Fansided

Cavaliers open to upping offer to Tristan Thompson

By Kyle Franzoni

Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) handles the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter in game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) handles the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter in game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers still want to bring back forward Tristan Thompson, but are not willing to max out a contract to do so.

Tristan Thompson is holding firm on his desire for a max deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the team doesn’t seem to be receptive. However, word out of Cleveland is that the team is willing to increase its offer in order to keep their young forward.

According to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, the Cavs are willing to increase their five-year, $80 million offer in order to get Thompson signed long-term. However, Cleveland has been very open about not wanted to proceed to a max contract, regardless if it is three years or five years in length.

That still remain a sticking point for Thompson’s camp, as the two parties were reportedly $14 million apart from each other as late as last week. While Cleveland is willing to go higher than $84 million, $14 million remains a sizable gap to overcome.

A max deal would pay Thompson roughly $17.5 million per season. That would make him the 15th highest paid player in the NBA, ahead of, among others, Russell Westbrook ($16.744), DeMarcus Cousins ($15.851), James Harden ($15.756), and defending NBA MVP Stephen Curry, who seems to be a relative bargain at $11.37 million.

In that context, you can understand the Cavs hesitancy to go too much further in their offer. Sure, Thompson is a 24-year-old power forward and he’s threatening to sign his one-year offer letter and jet next summer, but Cleveland has already phased him out of things a bit already. Thompson dipped across the board by averaging 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 2014-15, a sizable drop from his 11.7 points and 9+ rebounds each of the previous two seasons.

With the team already up against the salary cap, Cleveland’s willingness at this point to extend their offer is likely more to just appease LeBron James, who has been championing Thompson’s cause since the onset of free agency. However, Thompson’s insistence of scraping every last penny may be more telling than anything, with the forward likely more interested in becoming a free agent next summer than returning to Cleveland long-term and being a second fiddle.

The Cavs may just be wise to call him on the bluff and see what shakes out.

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