I was angry when I read Tristan Thompson had passed the Oct. 1 deadline without a contract.
The irrational anger came from the fact that it was 1 a.m. when I read the report. The frustration behind it, though, had been brewing for a year. It stemmed from Eric Bledsoe’s free agency bonanza.
It came from the agent of the two players: Rich Paul.
Paul does not know how to negotiate and he does not know the true value of his clients.
For seven years, his only client was LeBron James. When your client is the best player in the world, there is no negotiation. James says what he wants. The agent tells potential suitors. Instead of telling teams why James deserves the money, the teams tell James and Paul why they should accept their money.
It’s the opposite when dealing with unproven players. Paul doesn’t realize that.
Tristan Thompson is a serviceable backup big man with starter potential who was a bright spot in the Cavaliers' playoff run.
He asked the Cavaliers for five-years, 94-million dollars. Paul, used to the James treatment, assumed the Cavaliers would give Thompson the money.
Cleveland responded with an $80 million offer over five years.
That’s a lot of money for a backup and an insurance policy.
To put it in perspective, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge accepted a 4-year, $80 million offer from the San Antonio Spurs this offseason. As a bona fide superstar, he has proven he deserves the max deal.
Thompson’s asking price was $18.8 million per year. The Cavaliers were willing to spoon $16 million per year.
| Name | Minutes per game | Points per game | Rebounds per game |
| Tristan Thompson | 26.8 | 8.5 | 8.0 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | 35.4 | 23.4 | 10.2 |
The difference between Aldridge and Thompson’s expected contracts came down to the salary cap rise that is expected over the next few years. Aldridge took the current maximum contract; therefore, even though the max will go up next year, he wanted the security of being paid the most possible now.
Thompson wanted an amount proportionate to the salary cap projection for the 2017 season. Each team is expected to have $108 million to spend; Thompson’s asking price would take up about 17.5 percent of the Cavaliers' cap space.
That’s the same price that Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is paid.
Starting power forward Kevin Love is paid about 20 percent of the cap space. James' is more than one-third of the cap.
| Cavaliers player | 2017 expected contract |
| LeBron James |
$36.5 million |
| Kevin Love | $22.6 million |
| Kyrie Irving | $18.8 million |
That’s not reasonable. The Cavaliers probably spelled this out to Paul, but in 2017, the three stars alone could be paid a combined $77 million.
Thompson’s proposed $18.8 million, the Cavaliers would have about $12 million left for two more starters and six more bench players before paying a luxury tax.
Sorry, Thompson. Just three months ago, Cleveland learned how lack of depth can ruin a team.
Paul refusing to negotiate implies that he does not know what he’s doing.
Both Thompson and Bledsoe were restricted free agents. If they were worth their asking price, a different team would’ve snagged them.
No team did.
Thompson will get a big contract. It just won’t be for $19 million per year. It’ll probably be around the $16 million the Cavaliers initially offered.
I don’t know what Paul says to his players. I also don’t know how he doesn’t recognize simple value.
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Reach the columnist at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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