Tristan Thompson missed the pre-training camp event organized by Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James in Miami over the weekend, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported.
James arranged the event to get themselves ready for the upcoming training camp, but Thompson did not appear as he is still in a contract stalemate with the Cavaliers.
Thompson is restricted free agent this summer, which means the Cavaliers have the right to match all offers to the four-year veteran this offseason.
The Cavaliers have made it no secret that they want to keep Thompson, but has remained firm on their most recent offer. According to previous reports, Thompson and his camp are looking for a five-year deal worth around $94 million, but the Cavaliers are only willing to offer up to $80 million for five years.
The contract dispute is the reason why Thompson opted to skip the pre-training camp workout, where most of Cleveland's key players were present.
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Anderson Varejao, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, James Jones and Joe Harris attended the event. Newly-acquired players Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson and Sasha Kaun were also present. Starting center Timofey Mozgov missed the workout as he is still recovering from a knee procedure this summer.
Will the Cavaliers Keep Thompson?
Thompson was an integral part of the Cavaliers last season, especially during their playoff run after Love, their starting power forward, went down with a shoulder injury.
However, the Cavaliers feel that offering $94 million is too much, especially after Thompson failed to get another lucrative offer from competing teams.
Previous reports indicated that Thompson might decide to accept the one-year qualifying offer from the Cavaliers. It will give him another year in Cleveland before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Player agent Rich Paul declared that Thompson might accept the qualifying offer, but the Cavaliers should not expect the 24-year-old to return next offseason.
But according to NBA insider Chuck Myron, the qualifying offer is a big threat to the Cavaliers because Paul previously claimed that there are teams willing to offer max deals next summer. But he also pointed out that a $94 million is too much for Thompson, who averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last season.
"I think the QO is a legitimate threat if there truly are teams ready to give him the max," Myron said in a recent chat session. "But I don't think Thompson is a max player to the tune of $20.4MM a year, which would be his starting salary on a max deal if he signs one next year."
