Here's why the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson could not make a deal -- Terry Pluto
Tristan Thompson dunks in the Cavs victory in Chicago on Friday. As he played, his agent was not able to finalize a contract extension with the team.
(AP)
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Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
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on November 01, 2014 at 2:50 PM, updated November 01, 2014 at 3:04 PM
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- So why didn't the Cavaliers find a way to
sign Tristan Thompson to a contract extension?
The answer is a bit complicated, and it goes to heart of why several other players from Thompson's 2011 draft class didn't sign extensions.
Here are some those names:
1. Kawhi Leonard, the MVP of the NBA Finals with San Antonio.
2. Enes Kanter, the center who averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds for Utah.
3. Reggie Jackson, the guard who averaged 13.1 points for Oklahoma City.
4. Jimmy Butler, the 6-foot-7 guard who averaged 13 points for Chicago.
5. Tobias Harris, the small forward who averaged 14.6 points and 6.0 rebounds for Orlando.
6. Norris Cole averaged 6.2 points last season, but he's a starter now for Miami.
There are others, but I start with this list because it's to show that the Cavs are not alone in looking at a key player from the 2011 draft heading into restricted free agency in the summer of 2015.
As always, the NBA salary cap rules induce migraines when trying to explain how they apply to most situations.
FIRST BOTTOM LINE: The Cavs can't negotiate with Thompson until after the season -- July 1. He can receive offers from other teams, but the Cavs have the right to match those offers. For example, in 1990 the Cavs were talking to John "Hot Rod" Williams. He received a 7-year, $26 million offer sheet from Miami. The Cavs matched it -- but it cost them far more than they'd hoped to pay.
THE CAP, THE CASH
The big issue for players, agents and owners is the rising salary cap.
Because of a new TV contract expected to kick in during the summer of 2016, some estimates have the salary cap rising more than 25 percent that summer.
That's why LeBron James
signed a 2-year contract. He can even opt-out in the summer of 2015. James wants the most cash available because he has never been on the ultimate maximum contract until this season.
But there is some concern that the salary cap may even rise by 15 percent in the summer of 2015 -- rather than the usual 7 percent.
In other words, both sides aren't sure how much money they will have to work with on the salary cap.
For a player such as Kyrie Irving, it doesn't matter. He signed a 5-year, $90 million MAXIMUM contract. But it could be worth far more than $90 million, as it is tied to how the salary cap expands.
Klay Thompson signed a 4-year, $70 million MAXIMUM contract with Golden State. Like Irving, he also will benefit from the rising cap.
SOME WHO SIGNED
1. Denver signed 6-foot-8 Kenneth Faried to a four-year, $50 million extension. It also contains some incentives. Faried averaged 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Nuggets last season. He is a hustle player/rebounder. He was the No. 22 pick in the 2011 draft.
2. Orlando signed Nikola Vuvecic to a four-year, $53 million deal. He is a 7-foot center who averaged 14.2 points, 11.0 rebounds and shot 51 percent. He also is a true center, that gives him extra value in the NBA where 7-footers with any talent are precious.
3. In the summer of 2013, Utah signed 6-foot-10 Derrick Favors to a four-year, $48 million deal. He was coming off a season where he averaged 9.4 points and 7.1 rebounds.
4. Minnesota signed guard Ricky Rubio to a 4-year, $56 million deal. The point guard averaged 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and shot 41 percent.
5. Utah signed guard Alec Burks to a 4-year, $42 million deal. He averaged 14 points and shot .457 from the field.
6. Charlotte's Kemba Walker signed a 4-year, $48 million deal. The point guard averaged 17.7 points last season.
REMEMBER: The players such as Irving and others who signed extensions will play under their current rookie contracts this season. The new deals don't apply until 2015-16, the same as if they waited until July to sign a new deal.
So Tristan Thompson's $5.1 million salary would have remained the same for this season -- even with a contract extension. That is part of the reason he and other players have decided to wait.
Also, the market is in flux. As you can see, these contracts are all over the place for a variety of players. That made it hard to figure out what Thompson is worth.
BIG MEN, BIG BUCKS
When a player can do a decent job at center or power forward, he is very valuable.
That's why the Cavs gave Anderson Varejao that 3-year, $30 million deal. Only $20 million over the first two years is guaranteed. But given the fact that Varejao has missed more games (166) than he he has played (156) in that last four seasons -- well, it's a good deal for the 6-foot-10 center.
The Cavs like it because that last season at $10 million (2017-18) is not guaranteed and it can be used as a trading asset. Don't ask how, too complicated. I explained it
in my Terry's Talkin'.
A respectable big man seems to start with a salary in the $10 million range -- and it goes up quickly.
ABOUT THOMPSON
He is represented by Chris Paul, the agent for LeBron James.
Paul and his negotiator (Mark Termini) recently signed Eric Bledsoe to a 5-year, $70 million deal with Phoenix. Bledsoe was a restricted free agent. Most of the league was shocked that the guard's contract was that lucrative.
There were whispers that the Cavs would give Thompson almost anything, because it would be a way to keep James happy -- as James is very close to Paul and his agency.
Obviously, that turned out not to be the case.
I heard there were talks about a Faried deal for Thompson -- about $50 million for four years.
But the two sides couldn't settle. They also knew they could resume discussions again in July.
The 6-foot-10 Thompson is 23. He averaged 11.7 points and 9.3 rebounds over the previous two seasons.
He had 13 rebounds (12 on the offensive boards) in the Cavs 114-108 overtime victory at Chicago Friday. He had a strong preseason.
I've checked on this, and there don't seem to be any real hard feelings between the agents representing Thompson (and James) and the Cavs.
The Cavs need Thompson, because next summer they will be beyond the salary cap. It's an estimate right now, but a guess is that the Cavs will have more than $70 million tied up in Kevin Love, Irving, James and Varejao for the 2015-16 season.
That makes it extremely hard to acquire free agents. It makes a lot of sense for the Cavs to keep Thompson -- because you can exceed the salary to keep your own free agent.
In July, we will find out if both sides can find the right dollar amount to make it work.
I threw up in my mouth when i heard we were offering him over 11M. I can't get away from his flaws. Undersized PF's that can rebound shouldn't get big dollars, they are an easy piece to replace. So i don't want to give a significant amount of our cap to him. I'm shocked TT didn't take our offer, i think we were overpaying with the final offer. Personally, i think Rich/TT are using the perceived "Lebron leverage" and just being greedy. Lebron isn't going to leave if Tristan Thompson doesn't get whatever number TT and Rich have in their heads. Lebron wants rings. He doesn't want any albatross contracts on this team. Only person Lebron wants getting overpaid is Lebron. He knows that it is in his best interest to keep the roster flexible. .gif "Doh (31) :doh (31):")
