Remember when LeBron helped Tristan Thompson get that gigantic contract a few years ago? The one where they shared an agent so the Cavs had to pay Thompson in order to keep LeBron happy? I had been operating under the assumption that Thompson’s huge contract was just going to continue forever, with the Cavaliers paying him eighteen million dollars per year until he retires and maybe even a couple years after he retires for good measure.
It turns out that Thompson’s contract actually does have a built-in end date, and that date is the end of this season. Once the off-season comes around, Thompson’s going to have to find a new contract to sign. The team, the amount, and the duration of that contract are all up in the air. I can’t even begin to guess what kind of contract he’s going to get.
Is the “TT era” of the Cavs finally drawing to a close? Or are the Cavs going to re-sign TT to keep the TT era alive? I don’t even know. It’s hard to tell what the Cavs future plans are because they aren’t a free-agent destination, they don’t have LeBron, and they don’t have a lot of young players who are worth building around. Thompson seems like he fits more on an established playoff team, but there’s also the loyalty thing coming into play.
Long story short, Thompson should get LeBron to flex his muscles a bit more and score him another max contract.