The Tristan Thompson saga in Cleveland has finally come to a close. Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group tweeted Wednesday that, according to his sources, the Cavs forward has agreed to a five-year, $82 million deal.
#Cavs, Tristan Thompson agree to 5-year, $82 million deal, league sources tell @clevelanddotcom.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 21, 2015
The reported contract resolves a months-long stalemate between Thompson, his agent Rich Paul and the Cavs’ front office, who are the clear winners in this deal. On the first day of free agency in July, it was reported that Cleveland was close to finalizing a deal with Thompson worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 million over five years.
Thompson and his camp balked at that offer in favor of a preferred max deal worth $94 million over the same period of time. They eventually softened their stance and proposed a more modest, three-year deal worth about $53 million. And that’s the impasse the two sides have been stuck at since the deadline for Thompson to sign a one-year qualifying offer passed earlier this month.
Though the deal isn’t what Thompson was initially hoping for, it ends what LeBron James has deemed a distraction for the team, which will embark on its quest for a title next week with every key cog of last season’s roster still in tow.
(Via Chris Haynes)
