Cavaliers agree to 5-year, $82M contract with RFA Tristan Thompson

[F N 11]

So youre telling me Varejao, Love, and Mozgov could not hold down the front court? looking like Love aint worth it if you ask me then.

[JDizzel3000]

With the new cap this is a pretty good deal for the Cavs I think. Rich Paul took the L on this. He caused all of that trouble for his client, for what? An extra 2 mill? I'm surprised how willing the Cavs were to play hardball this summer.

What trouble? Missing preseason games?

Apparently to realgm posters this is equivalent to "irreconcilable differences"

[mtron929]

If I were Dan Gilbert, I would have rather spent $82 million dollars paying off all the NBA referees instead. I am sure that having the refs on your side adds more value than TT playing 20 minutes per game and grabbing some rebounds.

[Kurosawa0]

We're going to be looking at average starters getting about $15 million per in the new money landscape. Thompson is probably an above average starter on most teams. It's worth it to the Cavs to keep the asset and they probably need him to win a title anyway.

[Heat_team02]

[Aintnohater]

Bruh I better get paid 50 million for 4 years for being a water or towel boy then..

[Aintnohater]

but real talks this guy better have been working on his game and conditioning while he wasnt praticing with the cavs

[jbk1234]

Lol my lord ....do you think he ..his agent or any other half witted NBA player gives a damn about "alienating the fans" relative to getting paid?

Go ask Eric Bledsoe (who doesn't play on the cavs btw) if he's happy with Rich Paul representing him ....

What "difficult situation" was lebron in?

It's just mind boggling reading some of these hyperbolic sensationalized post

I don't get what's difficult to understand. TT was offered $80 million on the first day of FA. He received that offer not because Rich Paul is some super agent but because Rich Paul represents LBJ, LBJ isn't signed for multiple years, and the Cavs wanted to keep LBJ happy. If TT played for another team, that didn't have LBJ, and tried to play hardball, he'd either not play this season or sign for 50-60% of his current contract.

So let's start with that huge, and totally unique, advantage that Paul has. That alone got his client an $80 million offer. So with all the B.S. that followed, for long as it dragged on (whether you think the damage is lasting or not), TT got $2 million extra over five friggin years. The general consensus is that TT received that money solely so that Paul could save face and not be embarrassed. You think Paul looks good. Most people think that TT caved and the Cavs were magnanimous.

Who's gives a damn about this nonsensical conspiracy theory garbage .... if Lebron was the sole levying factor in the contract negotiations TT would have got his full max like he initially demanded ...... this tin foil hat madness sounds silly

After this season the % of the cap TT's contract occupies breaks down like this 17% 16% 16% 15% ...... you know who also makes roughly 16% of their teams salary at a similar position?

-Jeff Green
-Robin Lopez
-Omer Asik
-Tiago Splitter
-Amir Johnson

lol @ "he only got paid because lebron... & he would get 50-60% of that if he was elsewhere" when Amir Johnson just got the same money from Boston .... .... some of you guys need to really get a grip and understand that the market is changing due to the massive influx of salary space on the horizon.... it should be simple to understand ... if you are young and you show up like TT did in the finals ... you are more than likely going to get paid and if he was elsewhere i dont see why he wouldnt have got his money ... additionally you cannot mention the advantage Paul has without talking about the advantages that Clev has ... do you think TT really wants to play elsewhere? without lebron?? on a lessor team?? there's logical reasons to make a compromise on both sides in this situation so stop the one sided argument


And again .... it doesn't matter what you or I think ... the fact is Rich has gotten TT an 80mil dollar contract and Eric Bledsoe (WHO LET ME REPEAT .....DOES NOT PLAY FOR THE CAVS ...THUS REMOVING THE "LEBRON LEVERAGE FACTOR... A MAX DEAL) so at the end of the day if im a guy looking to be represented all i care about are the results and he's unequivocally been getting the job done

LOL at "insane conspiracy theories." Paul tried to hold out LBJ until TT was signed and LBJ told him to forget about it. LBJ was out there telling everyone in the media that TT was extremely important, should be a Cavalier for life, etc... If Paul is like you and think TT got that money just because he's a good negotiator than I worry about his future clients.

Paul got Bledsoe $70 million over five years which was his market value. If he had signed the Q.O., he probably would have gotten $70 million over 4 years from a team like the Jazz this summer. Amir Johnson got $12 million per over two years and I'm not even sure that second year is guaranteed.

[webc5]

What is their Cap hit now?

[meekrab]

with new cba, we are going to see avg players getting 100mil.

Why do people keep saying "new cba"?

[tidho]

What is their Cap hit now?

They are looking at a luxery tax bill of $60-65M.
...and Gilbert doesn't care, so neither should we.

[taikibansei]

I don't get how so many people here can see this is as some great victory for either Rich Paul or Tristan Thompson. Cleveland opened the bargaining at 5-years, 80-million. I.e., for whatever reason, that's how Cleveland originally pegged his worth.

TT and Paul then rejected that offer, publicly and loudly. Moreover, for the last three months, TT and Paul have been demanding the max and making all these threats about TT leaving if they didn't get there way. Paul has also been implying that other, max offers existed.

Well, TT didn't get the max...and yet TT is still in Cleveland. Moreover, three months of posturing and threats...for a $400,000/year raise?

That's not a victory.

It is a victory. What were they offering him last summer? What was he willing to take last summer? At the end of the day, that is what they were going against. People here were calling TT stupid for not taking that deal last year.

Rich Paul knew what kind of contract he might have gotten next year. I doubt it would have made up for the loss of this year's money.

3 months of posturing and threats... for 2 million. Please, if my agent told me I could get an extra 2 million if I wait, I'm waiting. He doesn't miss any games, and he doesn't hurt his value. What did lose?

You've got to be kidding me. Again, Cleveland opened the bargaining at 5-years, 80-million this year. That was their initial offer, based on what TT did in the playoffs--it had nothing to do with Paul. And 2 million extra--for a salary of $80,000, that means he held out four months demanding $94,0000 (or $14,000 more), making all these threats and acting so tough...only to take an extra $2,000 (in a perfect storm situation where Cleveland pretty much had to keep him due to Lebron). Yeah, that's a pretty amazing victory there!

[Magic24]

I don't get how so many people here can see this is as some great victory for either Rich Paul or Tristan Thompson. Cleveland opened the bargaining at 5-years, 80-million. I.e., for whatever reason, that's how Cleveland originally pegged his worth.

TT and Paul then rejected that offer, publicly and loudly. Moreover, for the last three months, TT and Paul have been demanding the max and making all these threats about TT leaving if they didn't get there way. Paul has also been implying that other, max offers existed.

Well, TT didn't get the max...and yet TT is still in Cleveland. Moreover, three months of posturing and threats...for a $400,000/year raise?

That's not a victory.

It is a victory. What were they offering him last summer? What was he willing to take last summer? At the end of the day, that is what they were going against. People here were calling TT stupid for not taking that deal last year.

Rich Paul knew what kind of contract he might have gotten next year. I doubt it would have made up for the loss of this year's money.

3 months of posturing and threats... for 2 million. Please, if my agent told me I could get an extra 2 million if I wait, I'm waiting. He doesn't miss any games, and he doesn't hurt his value. What did lose?

You've got to be kidding me. Again, Cleveland opened the bargaining at 5-years, 80-million this year. That was their initial offer, based on what TT did in the playoffs--it had nothing to do with Paul. And 2 million extra--for a salary of $80,000, that means he held out four months demanding $94,0000 (or $14,000 more), making all these threats and acting so tough...only to take an extra $2,000 (in a perfect storm situation where Cleveland pretty much had to keep him due to Lebron). Yeah, that's a pretty amazing victory there!

Still a victory. Anyway you slice it, he didn't lose money. He didn't lose value. He gained 2 million more when 90% of the people paying attention thought he was already offered too much. to think otherwise.

He was winning from the get go. He gain 2 million more by waiting.

[mademan]

It is a victory. What were they offering him last summer? What was he willing to take last summer? At the end of the day, that is what they were going against. People here were calling TT stupid for not taking that deal last year.

Rich Paul knew what kind of contract he might have gotten next year. I doubt it would have made up for the loss of this year's money.

3 months of posturing and threats... for 2 million. Please, if my agent told me I could get an extra 2 million if I wait, I'm waiting. He doesn't miss any games, and he doesn't hurt his value. What did lose?

You've got to be kidding me. Again, Cleveland opened the bargaining at 5-years, 80-million this year. That was their initial offer, based on what TT did in the playoffs--it had nothing to do with Paul. And 2 million extra--for a salary of $80,000, that means he held out four months demanding $94,0000 (or $14,000 more), making all these threats and acting so tough...only to take an extra $2,000 (in a perfect storm situation where Cleveland pretty much had to keep him due to Lebron). Yeah, that's a pretty amazing victory there!

Still a victory. Anyway you slice it, he didn't lose money. He didn't lose value. He gained 2 million more when 90% of the people paying attention thought he was already offered too much. to think otherwise.

He was winning from the get go. He gain 2 million more by waiting.

This is a business of relationships. You dont phuck around for an extra 1.5%..thatll bite you in the arse more often than not

[bondom34]

The notion that Love is a better defender than TT is just an indictment against relying solely on advanced stats. TT is a really good PNR defender which is the Achilles heel for most big men. It impacts the other team's ability to run its sets and the overall offense.

But he isn't a good defender, and the only reason he grabs so many offensive rebounds is because he doesn't really play offense.... he just stabds around an waits for the rebound.

That also plays a role in his poor defense. He crashes the o boards so heavily that he doesnt get back on d.

If you're going to make a blanket statement like that, I think you need to identify exactly what it is that TT does poorly on defense. He has good food speed, he's able to stay in front of wings after switches, and he can hold his own on the block. He's a little undersized for my taste by it's only a problem against a few bigs in the league.

As far as transition defense, I think you're confusing what the Cavs ask TT to do with what TT is capable of doing.

Actually some stats favor Love's defense as well. Honestly that was my mistake, there's really nothing much he's better at than Love (yea a few relatively minor matchup areas but nothing worth this much fuss or money), yet he got a rep as a defensive presence in the finals somehow. He rode a handful of games to 82 mil.

[Magic24]

You've got to be kidding me. Again, Cleveland opened the bargaining at 5-years, 80-million this year. That was their initial offer, based on what TT did in the playoffs--it had nothing to do with Paul. And 2 million extra--for a salary of $80,000, that means he held out four months demanding $94,0000 (or $14,000 more), making all these threats and acting so tough...only to take an extra $2,000 (in a perfect storm situation where Cleveland pretty much had to keep him due to Lebron). Yeah, that's a pretty amazing victory there!

Still a victory. Anyway you slice it, he didn't lose money. He didn't lose value. He gained 2 million more when 90% of the people paying attention thought he was already offered too much. to think otherwise.

He was winning from the get go. He gain 2 million more by waiting.

This is a business of relationships. You dont phuck around for an extra 1.5%..thatll bite you in the arse more often than not

That's BS. Know the market and the history of the league. More often than not, that 80 million dollar contract would be there whenever he wanted it.

If he lost money, sure you can say that. If he decided to take the QO and didn't make up the money next summer, sure he lost. Neither of those things happened.
I'm not saying that the Cavs lost. They get what they want as well.

[JDizzel3000]

I don't get what's difficult to understand. TT was offered $80 million on the first day of FA. He received that offer not because Rich Paul is some super agent but because Rich Paul represents LBJ, LBJ isn't signed for multiple years, and the Cavs wanted to keep LBJ happy. If TT played for another team, that didn't have LBJ, and tried to play hardball, he'd either not play this season or sign for 50-60% of his current contract.

So let's start with that huge, and totally unique, advantage that Paul has. That alone got his client an $80 million offer. So with all the B.S. that followed, for long as it dragged on (whether you think the damage is lasting or not), TT got $2 million extra over five friggin years. The general consensus is that TT received that money solely so that Paul could save face and not be embarrassed. You think Paul looks good. Most people think that TT caved and the Cavs were magnanimous.

Who's gives a damn about this nonsensical conspiracy theory garbage .... if Lebron was the sole levying factor in the contract negotiations TT would have got his full max like he initially demanded ...... this tin foil hat madness sounds silly

After this season the % of the cap TT's contract occupies breaks down like this 17% 16% 16% 15% ...... you know who also makes roughly 16% of their teams salary at a similar position?

-Jeff Green
-Robin Lopez
-Omer Asik
-Tiago Splitter
-Amir Johnson

lol @ "he only got paid because lebron... & he would get 50-60% of that if he was elsewhere" when Amir Johnson just got the same money from Boston .... .... some of you guys need to really get a grip and understand that the market is changing due to the massive influx of salary space on the horizon.... it should be simple to understand ... if you are young and you show up like TT did in the finals ... you are more than likely going to get paid and if he was elsewhere i dont see why he wouldnt have got his money ... additionally you cannot mention the advantage Paul has without talking about the advantages that Clev has ... do you think TT really wants to play elsewhere? without lebron?? on a lessor team?? there's logical reasons to make a compromise on both sides in this situation so stop the one sided argument


And again .... it doesn't matter what you or I think ... the fact is Rich has gotten TT an 80mil dollar contract and Eric Bledsoe (WHO LET ME REPEAT .....DOES NOT PLAY FOR THE CAVS ...THUS REMOVING THE "LEBRON LEVERAGE FACTOR... A MAX DEAL) so at the end of the day if im a guy looking to be represented all i care about are the results and he's unequivocally been getting the job done

LOL at "insane conspiracy theories." Paul tried to hold out LBJ until TT was signed and LBJ told him to forget about it. LBJ was out there telling everyone in the media that TT was extremely important, should be a Cavalier for life, etc... If Paul is like you and think TT got that money just because he's a good negotiator than I worry about his future clients.

you gotta love this kind of inside info right here ......with these kinds of quality sources tapping into the conversations between Lebron and Rich you should be working for ESPN Yahoo SI....Something! ....what are you doing on a message board??

Moratorium ended July 9 ..... Lebron Signs Contract July 10 ..... yet "he was trying to hold out" .... awww man ... what would a message board be without the tin hat theories

who cares about what your worries are .... his clients get paid ...simple ...plain... not really much else to talk about

Paul got Bledsoe $70 million over five years which was his market value. If he had signed the Q.O., he probably would have gotten $70 million over 4 years from a team like the Jazz this summer. Amir Johnson got $12 million per over two years and I'm not even sure that second year is guaranteed.

Bledsoes market value was 4/70 according to who?? let me give you a hint .... (there weren't many people posting on this board,in the media or hell even his own gm who thought that) ..... people were going on and on and on and on about him being stupid for not taking the 4/48 deal ... saying how he wouldn't get the extra money...Paul is stupid for holding him out...blah blah blah ... etc etc etc .... im not going to sit here and play this convenient amnesia game with you

...Although the Suns initial offer to Bledsoe which was reported to be 4 years and $48 million was thought to be fair market value by most NBA analysts, bloggers, and columnists, Bledsoe and his agent, Rich Paul, were pushing for the full max deal of 5 years and over $80 million.

http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2014/9/24/6839147/phoenix-suns-sign-eric-bledsoe-to

^^^^straight from the suns blog ....... lol @ "he just got bledsoe market value" ... and who in the hell would want to play a lame duck season under the QO .... do you think its a coincidence why you RARELY if ever see players take that risk? Paul GOT that kid his money & he didn't have to wait or risk a lame duck season to prove he was worth it ... THAT is what you call quality negotiating

Amir Johnson is getting 17% of his teams salary cap ... over the duration of TT's contract it averages 17% of the cavs projected salary cap (it actually decreases each year with the cap going up) .... it is very simular nearly the same money ..... why do we have to continue to go over the fact that the cap going up alters the value of these new contracts with you people .... its just tiring .....every single time ... its the same thing

[Thanksbros45]

Huge overpay obviously, but I think the planets aligned for it to end up this way. Has not missed a game in 3 seasons and came up big for us in the playoffs and was healthy when 2 out of the big 3 were not. Still young with plenty of room to improve. Friends with LeBron/same agent, Timo's knee and K-Love's injury history, etc. Oh well, very thankful for Dan Gilbert though.

[gino_giode]

The Cavs should have dropped their offer to 70-75/over 5 years based on principle. This was really the LeBron effect working here. Get hardballed by a RFA for max money who rejected their initial offer, but then accepts it for 2+ million. I believe the Cavs FO was just trying to do away with this distraction as evidenced by their winless preseason.

[Slava]

I was hoping the Cavs don't do the sensible thing by showing him the door. If you have to pay $16 mil a year for a back up, what does it say about your starting bigs? One of whom you just paid a max contract and another will demand roughly the same a year from now.