Tristan Thompson

Central Notes: Granger, Noah, Thompson

October 24th, 2015 at 5:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s all but inevitable that the Pistons will waive Danny Granger, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy admits, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). They’re exploring trade options in the interim, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, who cautions that it doesn’t mean a deal will happen (Twitter links). Granger has a fully guaranteed salary of $2,170,465, one of 16 full guarantees on the Pistons.

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

The Pacers‘ new D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, officially hired Harrison Greenberg as Director of Basketball Operations, the team announced.
LeBron James is pleased that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is willing to venture deep into luxury tax territory in an effort to put together a contending team, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “It’s a sign that he’ll do anything to help us go out there and perform,” James said of Gilbert’s spending. “I’m not comparing us to the New York Yankees, because we’re not, we’re so nowhere near compared to the New York Yankees, but they have one of the highest payrolls every year,” James continued. “They don’t win it every year but that’s what they believe in. They believe in going out there and getting the best talent that can play. When you have an ownership group or a collection round that believes what it’s going to take, then money is not an object.“
While Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has yet to make it official, center Joakim Noah is likely to begin the season coming off the bench, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. “We’ll start the same way,” Hoiberg said. “If it looks good, [that’s] a pretty good chance that’s the way we’ll go on opening night.” When asked about Noah’s response to the potential move, Hoiberg said, “We’ve talked. We talk about everything that he’s done. He was great, he was excited about playing with Taj Gibson last game. I think those two have a very good chemistry out there together. And [Noah] was the one that talked to me about that, about how well he feels he and Taj play together out there on the floor.”
Tristan Thompson is glad to be back with the Cavaliers, but does maintain that he was prepared to miss regular season time if a contract agreement had not been reached, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. “I love playing basketball,” Thompson said. “That’s my love, that’s my passion. But with this business it comes with a business side of it. For me, that’s how I approach it. Business is business and my approach is if a deal gets done before the season that’s great, but if not then so be it. I’m not a rookie no more. I’m a veteran. It’s not something to take lightly. It’s a serious matter.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Fallout From/Reaction To Tristan Thompson Deal

October 22nd, 2015 at 3:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs began with an offer to Tristan Thompson that was about $70MM and only moved up to $80MM roughly six weeks ago, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer hears. Reports that they were close to an $80MM deal on the first day of free agency were off-base, according to Pluto, who recounts the motivations for all parties involved, including the promise that Dan Gilbert made to LeBron James that he would spent to help the team win.

Here’s more regarding Thompson and the Cavs:

Cleveland slightly increased its offer in the days leading up to the deal, a source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Neither side in the Thompson negotiations came out a clear winner as both player and team stand to reap value from the deal, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
DeMarcus Cousins appeared to criticize Cleveland’s outlay, taking to Twitter with the message “How much???,” a public statement that was “thoroughly foolish” and “thoroughly revealing” as labor negotiations between owners and the players union loom, McMenamin argues in the same piece.
Thompson’s new deal illustrates just how willing Gilbert and the Cavaliers organization is to spend money in pursuit of an NBA title, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes.
With a new labor agreement on the horizon in 2017, there is an excellent chance that Cleveland will have the opportunity to waive Thompson via the amnesty provision if his contract turns out to be an albatross, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation. Ziller notes that amnesty clauses are generally a part of new labor agreements, which would provide the team a means to clear Thompson’s cap hit off its books, though it would still be responsible for any remaining salary owed to the power forward.
Keeping James happy played a large role in the Cavs signing Thompson, which is an added benefit to retaining the young big man, since James has the ability to opt out of his deal after the season is completed, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes.

Cavs Re-Sign Tristan Thompson

October 22nd, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2:02pm: The deal is official, the Cavs announced.

THURSDAY, 1:41pm: Thompson has put pen to paper on his contract, Haynes tweets. The Cavs have yet to acknowledge the signing publicly.

WEDNESDAY, 5:58pm: The Cavaliers and restricted free agent power forward Tristan Thompson have reached an agreement on a five-year, $82MM deal, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports (Twitter link). Rich Paul, Thompson’s agent, has confirmed the agreement with the Cavs to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who also notes that the pact is fully guaranteed. The arrangement includes no options, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing how the two sides reportedly haven’t been in contact with each other since Thompson let the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer expire at the beginning of October. Cleveland held the upper hand in these negotiations since Thompson’s choices were limited to signing a long term deal with the Cavs, signing an offer sheet with another team, or continuing to sit out. March 1st would have been the last day for him to sign an offer sheet this season, if the drama dragged on that long, and if he held out all season, Cleveland would have had the chance to issue another qualifying offer to renew his restricted free agency next July.

It had appeared on the opening day of free agency that the sides were close on a five-year, $80MM deal, but the power forward instead had reportedly sought the max of around $94MM over five years, though Thompson was later said to prefer a three-year max contract, something that Cleveland had little interest in agreeing to. The full value of a three-year max for Thompson would have been worth precisely $52,914,188. Tim Bontemps of The New York Post had predicted that Thompson would end up re-signing for five years and $85MM, a number not far off the amount reported by Haynes.

The 24-year-old will become the sixth highest paid power forward in the league behind Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap, and David Lee. It’s debatable whether or not Thompson is worth being compensated at this level, especially given the luxury tax hit that will be tacked on. Thompson’s numbers through 306 career NBA contests are 10.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks to accompany a slash line of .488/.000/.633.

The Cavaliers currently possess a roster count of 20 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed contracts, which is the preseason maximum, so a corresponding move will need to be made prior to Thompson’s deal becoming official.

How Tristan Thompson Deal Affects Cavs Tax Bill

October 22nd, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Cavaliers finally struck a deal to sign Tristan Thompson on Wednesday night when the sides reached agreement on a five-year, $82MM arrangement, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. The precise value of the contract is still unknown, but Thompson will draw a salary of $14.2MM this season, a source told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). [UPDATE, 4:00pm: The precise value of this season’s salary for Thompson, who has officially re-signed, is $14,260,870, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). So, we’ve revised the numbers you see below accordingly.] That’s the key figure in what likely proved a stumbling block as negotiations dragged on for months: the luxury tax.

The Cavaliers already had a payroll well above the $84.74MM tax threshold before coming to terms with Thompson, and signing him means Cleveland is in line to shell out a total that’s second only to the $190MM-plus the Nets paid in taxes and salary during the 2013/14 season. The league makes its tax calculations according to payrolls on the final day of the regular season, so it’s still too early to determine exactly how much the Cavs will pay. However, the $14,260,870 figure for Thompson shows the sort of financial straits the Cavs are getting themselves into.

Cleveland was a taxpayer this past season, but the team is not in line for repeat-offender penalties, which kick in when a team pays the tax in at least three years out of the previous four. That’s a saving grace, but the Cavs will still be paying plenty. Their existing amount of guaranteed salary, before Thompson, was $94,907,206, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. All of it was committed to the 13 Cavaliers aside from Thompson who have fully guaranteed salaries this season, since the Cavs aren’t carrying any partial guarantees. Adding $14,260,870 to that figure would bring it to $109,168,076, or $24,428,076 more than the tax line.

That number reflects the team’s salary as it relates to the cap, but the tax incorporates other calculations. Any Cavs player who triggers an incentive clause in his contract that the league deems they’re unlikely to achieve would make the number rise accordingly for tax purposes. Conversely, if any of the Cavs fail to meet likely incentives, the team’s tax number would go down. The tax also treats all minimum-salary contracts equally, except for players whom teams signed as draft picks. That makes Joe Harris, last year’s 33rd overall pick, cheaper for the Cavs than most other players on minimum-salary contracts would be. His $845,059 one-year veteran’s minimum salary, which is fully guaranteed, is reflected on the team’s payroll as just that. If the Cavs were to keep Jack Cooley on his $845,059 one-year veteran’s minimum contract for the entire season, it would show up at $947,276 when the league adds up Cleveland’s payroll at season’s end.

The estimated $109,168,076 payroll figure for Cleveland, which includes Thompson, entails a roster of 14 players, one shy of the regular season maximum. Most teams carry 15 on opening night, and almost every team has a 15th player at some point during the year. Teams usually make at least slight changes to their personnel over the course of the season, so it’s a stretch to assume that Thompson and the 13 other fully guaranteed players will constitute the Cavs roster by season’s end. However, here’s how the league would tax the Cavs in the event that $109,168,076 figure holds:

Cleveland would first have to pay a $7.5MM penalty for exceeding the tax line by at least $4,999,999.
Penalties of $8.75MM, $12.5MM and $16.25MM would follow, since the team would also burst through the next three tax brackets.
The Cavs would have to pay $3.75 for every dollar they spent above $20MM. Since the Cavs would be $24,367,206 above the tax threshold, they would pay $4,428,076 times $3.75, or $16,605,285.
Add $16,605,285 to $7.5MM, $8.75MM, $12.5MM and $16.25MM, and you get a total tax bill of $61,605,285.

This scenario would mean a payout of $170,773,361 in salary and taxes. Again, that’s an estimate, since the Cavs are bound to make roster changes between now and the end of the season and incentives clauses could come into play. Still, it demonstrates the kind of financial commitment that owner Dan Gilbert is making. Cleveland’s first pro championship since 1964 would carry tremendous psychological value to the city’s sports fans, and for Cavs ownership, the prospect of delivering that title is apparently worth plenty in actual value, too.

Cavaliers Rumors: Thompson, James, Cooley

October 17th, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Neither side seems to have a sense of urgency to resolve the Tristan Thompson holdout, writes Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It has been more than two weeks since Thompson let the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer expire, and Haynes reports that there is no ongoing communication between the team and Thompson’s agents, Rich Paul and Mark Termini. The columnist says team members have talked about how difficult a championship run would be without Thompson, and LeBron James has contacted the young forward frequently throughout the contract impasse.

Haynes notes that Thompson’s best option may be to sit out the entire season. Although he would remain a restricted free agent, he would likely see better offers next summer with the expected rise in the NBA’s salary cap.

Haynes writes that the Cavs’ offer of five years in the neighborhood of $80MM remains on the table, despite a recent rumor that the deal has been pulled. However, Thompson and his representatives are holding out for a max contract, either for five or three years.

There’s more this afternoon from Cleveland:

James may miss the rest of the preseason after receiving an injection in his back, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. James sat out two weeks in January after getting a similar anti-inflammatory shot. The Cavs plan for their superstar to be ready for their October 27th opener against the Bulls.
Free agent forward Jack Cooley, who signed with the team earlier today, received an $845,059 non-guaranteed deal, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. That number indicates that it covers one year. Kennedy notes that Cooley will be competing with Austin Daye, Jared Cunningham, Quinn Cook and D.J. Stephens for two open roster spots (Twitter link).
Thompson’s holdout and a rash of injuries are going to require patience from the coaching staff and front office during the early part of the season, writes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Five rotation players — Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao — have had surgery within the past 10 months.

Cavs Pull $80MM Offer To Tristan Thompson?

October 17th, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 2:02pm: The Cavs didn’t pull their offer, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who indicates it might not be worth precisely $80MM but is “in the ballpark” of that number, “give or take.”

FRIDAY, 7:59am: The Cavs withdrew their five-year, $80MM offer to Tristan Thompson when his qualifying offer expired on October 1st, as Salary Cap FAQ author Larry Coon hears and writes within a Basketball Insiders chat. The sides were reportedly close to a deal for those terms on the first day of free agency in July, but instead they’ve been locked into a stalemate ever since, with Thompson’s camp apparently insistent on a max deal of either five years or three.

Mark Termini, as he usually is for Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports, has been Thompson’s lead negotiator, Coon also hears, and as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports detailed a couple of weeks ago, Termini and the Cavs both have a history with holdouts. Thompson remains a restricted free agent, but only the Trail Blazers have the cap flexibility to sign him to a max offer sheet, and aside from them, only the Sixers can come close. The last day for Thompson to accept an offer sheet would be March 1st, if he still remains unsigned at that point. Should his free agency linger into next summer, the Cavaliers would have the opportunity to make a new qualifying offer by June 30th to continue his restricted free agency.

It’s unclear what sort of offer, if any, the Cavs have on the table for Thompson at this point. Cleveland is dealing with several injuries as the regular season draws near, including the continued absences of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who were hurt during the playoffs. Iman Shumpert is in line to miss roughly the first two months of the regular season because of a wrist injury that happened shortly before the start of training camp. The Cavs are a league-worst 0-5 in the preseason, though LeBron James has only appeared in two of those games as part of an effort to limit his minutes.

Where do you think the Cavs and Thompson will go from here? Leave a comment to give us your thoughts.

And-Ones: LeBron, Silver, Labissiere, Bender

October 8th, 2015 at 10:15am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James isn’t pressuring the Cavs to make moves amid the absence of key players, observes Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Kevin Love is set to take part in a full practice for the first time this weekend, Vardon’s Northeast Ohio Media Group colleague Chris Haynes writes, but Kyrie Irving is still out, Iman Shumpert isn’t expected back for about three months, and Tristan Thompson remains unsigned.

“Until Kyrie and Tristan and Shump is ready, we have enough guys that will all help,” James said. “It’s not about me carrying the team and that nature. We’re all grown men, we’re all professionals and they’re here to do their job.”

While we wait to see if the Cavs can indeed overcome being shorthanded, here’s more from around the league:

It’s unclear whether formal labor talks between commissioner Adam Silver and union executive director Michele Roberts have taken place, but Silver told Raúl Barrigón of HoopsHype that the two have remained in communication (All Twitter links). “We continue to talk all the time,” Silver said. “I think Michele Roberts and I both have the same goal which is to avoid any sort of work stoppage. And we know one of the ways to avoid a work stoppage is to talk early and often. And we’re doing that.”
Top 2016 draft prospect Skal Labissiere has yet to receive NCAA clearance to play this season at Kentucky, his guardian tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The NCAA has scrutinized the relationship between the guardian and the 7’0″ forward/center, Goodman hears, but it’s not clear if that’s the reason for the holdup. Labissiere is the top prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him second.
Dragan Bender impressed NBA scouts and executives with his play in exhibitions in Chicago and New York last week, according to Ford, who has the 17-year-old small forward at No. 3 in his ranking of the top 2016 draft prospects (Twitter links).
Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari became the first players to sign renegotiations-and-extensions under the current collective bargaining agreement this summer, but with the cap rising, a greater chance exists that this rarely used contract tool comes into play more often, notes Nate Duncan of Nylon Calculus. Duncan examines potential renegotiation-and-extension scenarios for DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden and others, arguing that such a move would make sense for both Cousins and the Kings in 2017.

Cavs Notes: Thompson, LeBron, Love

October 7th, 2015 at 7:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During an appearance on Zach Lowe of Grantland’s podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst opined that the contract standoff between the Cavaliers and restricted free agent Tristan Thompson isn’t likely to end any time soon, as RealGM transcribes. “I think it will take a third party event to bridge the gap here,” said Windhorst. “I actually believe it will probably go [on for] months. This will go well into the regular season.” The ESPN scribe also compared Thompson’s current situation with Anderson Varejao‘s prolonged holdout back in 2007 that saw the center remain unsigned until December 5th of that year. Varejao’s contract impasse finally came to an end when he inked a three-year, $10MM offer sheet with Charlotte that the Cavs matched.

Here’s more out of Cleveland:

Windhorst also told Lowe that agent Rich Paul, who represents Thompson and LeBron James, wanted to get Thompson’s deal in place prior to James re-signing with Cleveland this summer, but plans changed when Klutch Sports realized how difficult Thompson’s negotiation would be (RealGM transcription). “It was my understanding at the outset that their plan, when I say ‘their,’ I’m talking about Tristan’s representation, was to handle Tristan Thompson’s contract first and then do LeBron’s contract,” Windhorst said. “But five days into free agency, they realized Tristan’s deal was going to go very long and they had a choice to make. LeBron could either exercise influence or not. And whether it was Rich Paul’s decision or LeBron’s decision, they elected not to do that. LeBron signed his contract.“
Kevin Love has put his difficult 2014/15 campaign behind him and is excited about the Cavs’ chances this season, and he is ready to assume a larger role in the team’s offense, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “It’s just, I think, face everything head-on,” Love said when asked about his outlook for this season. “Relationships with all the guys out there on the court, facing adversity with these guys, or staying on a high with these guys, no matter where the season takes you, it’s just I think facing it head-on and trying to be in a collision course for great things. I think if we all put our heads together, we all continue to work and get healthy, I know I sound like a broken record, but I think we can do something special.“
Familiarity with the city of Cleveland played a major factor in Mo Williams‘ decision to re-sign with the Cavs this offseason, Joe Gabriele of NBA.com relays. “That was huge,” Williams told Gabriele. “It wasn’t that long ago [since I was here]. It feels like a while, but it really wasn’t. So, there’s some familiarity here – the same people, a couple familiar faces with teammates, but mostly everyone is new. The front office is pretty much intact, but in a little different capacity. It was definitely a comfort level and an excitement. And the thing about it is, I really enjoyed every single person in the front office. Griff [GM David Griffin] was here before I left. So, with all those things being said, it was an easy decision for me. Watching these guys fall short last year and me – being, you know, kind of a ‘Cav-at-heart’ – I felt sorry, I felt bad for the city. So that was definitely what made my mind up. When Golden State won that final game, my mind was made up – I was coming back. It was just how much money Griff was gonna give me.“

Central Notes: Thompson, Bucks, Bulls

October 4th, 2015 at 1:45pm CST by Will Joseph

LeBron James urged that the Cavs and Tristan Thompson need to bend in order to work out a deal as soon as possible because the situation is becoming a distraction and told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter links), that his Instagram post last night was meant to illustrate that thought.

“The last thing you need is a distraction when you’re trying to make a championship run and we have that,” James told reporters.

Thompson let the deadline pass without signing his qualifying offer earlier this week, which reduces his options to signing a long-term deal with the Cavs, signing an offer sheet from another team or continuing to sit out.

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

Cavs coach David Blatt admitted that he needed to learn a lot last year in his first season in the league, but he seems much more comfortable and confident than he was at this point last year, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal details. “I feel more at home,” Blatt told Lloyd. “It wasn’t easy what I had to go through last year from the standpoint of a whole new environment and whole new way of doing things.”
The Bucks have a few options at point guard heading into this season so it will be interesting to see who emerges during the preseason and what Jason Kidd‘s lineup will look like, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. The Bucks, who already had Michael Carter-Williams and Jerryd Bayless, acquired Greivis Vasquez in a trade with Toronto.
Players on the Bulls respect their former coach, Tom Thibodeau, but are, at least so far, seemingly happier with new coach Fred Hoiberg‘s player-friendly style, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes after speaking with several veterans.

Cavs Notes: James, Thompson, Jefferson

October 4th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by ChrisCrouse

LeBron James has ended his silence regarding Tristan Thompson‘s contract situation, posting a picture of the two of them on his Instagram account with the caption, “Get it done!!!!! Straight up. #MissMyBrother.”

Thompson let the deadline pass without signing his qualifying offer earlier this week, which reduces his options to signing a long-term deal with the Cavs, signing an offer sheet from another team or continuing to sit out. However, if he does sit out the season, he will remain a restricted free agent next offseason. It was reported on Friday that Thompson and his camp prefer a three-year max contract to the five-year max they sought most of the summer, but Cleveland is uninterested in such a proposal.

Here’s more from the reigning Eastern Conference champs:

A five-year, $85MM deal would be a logical conclusion to Thompson’s stalemate with the Cavs, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines. Such a figure would allow Thompson to get a bigger contract than fellow restricted free agent power forward Draymond Green, who signed a five-year deal worth $82MM with Golden State this summer, while saving Cleveland a significant amount of money in luxury tax payments.
Kevin Love‘s first year as a Cavalier didn’t go as smoothly as planned, but James believes he will thrive in Cleveland this season, Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I just think [Love’s] more comfortable in the situation that he’s in,” James said. “He’s got a year under his belt, he knows what he expects out of himself and what his teammates expect out of him. I expect big things from him this year with a year up under his belt.”
New addition Richard Jefferson hopes to give the Cavs 10-12 minutes each night, but the injury to Shumpert could force him to play more, Vardon writes in the same piece. The veteran is just excited to play alongside the four-time MVP. “With LeBron and his versatility … when you have that piece, kind of like the queen in chess, that can do everything, you realize that, ‘Hey if I can play the four and LeBron can go to the two, somebody else can play the three or vice versa, it makes everyone’s job a lot easier,'” Jefferson said.

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