5:48pm: Broussard tweeted an update to his initial report, noting that Thompson is willing to sign a the previously reported three-year deal, but the Cavaliers have not yet agreed to that proposal.
5:25pm: Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal refutes the report that the two sides have agreed to a deal (Twitter link). Lloyd indicates that no deal has been struck, and that the Cavs are not interested in signing Thompson to the reported terms.
5:11pm: Power forward Tristan Thompson has agreed to re-sign with the Cavaliers, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It will be a three-year, $53MM deal, Broussard adds. The return of Thompson, who is a restricted free agent, will increase Cleveland’s roster count to 18 players.
The two sides apparently reached a compromise, with Cleveland having reportedly offered Thompson a five-year, $80MM deal previously, while the forward’s camp was reportedly holding out for a max deal worth $94MM over the same span, according to a report by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Cavs were operating under the threat that Thompson would sign the team’s one-year qualifying offer of nearly $6.8MM in order to become an unrestricted free agent next year.
His agent, Rich Paul, recently claimed that if Thompson would not re-sign with the Cavs for the long-term in 2016 if he signed that qualifying offer. Paul also has reportedly heard from three NBA teams that are willing to offer his client a max salary next summer if he hits unrestricted free agency. The agent reportedly believed that he could land a max deal from the Raptors for Thompson, a Toronto native, but it’s unclear if they were one of the three teams.
Thompson, 24, appeared in 82 games for the Cavs in 2014/15, averaging 8.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per contest. His career numbers through four NBA seasons are 10.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 0.8 APG to go along with a slash line of .488/.000/.633.