Our long national nightmare is over. Tristan Thompson’s holdout has been hanging over the Cavaliers all summer — his qualifying offer expired on October 1, and he has yet to report to training camp. It looked like there was a good chance the standoff would drag out into the season. But the Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s Chris Haynes reports that the Cavs have averted crisis, agreeing to a five-year, $82 million deal with Thompson:
#Cavs, Tristan Thompson agree to 5-year, $82 million deal, league sources tell @clevelanddotcom.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 21, 2015
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that all five years of the deal are fully guaranteed, with no player or team options:
Cavs agreement with Tristan Thompson is 5 years with no player or team options. All $82 million is fully guaranteed, which was a key issue
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) October 21, 2015
Is this an overpay for Thompson, in a vacuum? Probably. But he was their second-best player in the Finals, and getting a deal done before the season starts gets what would have been a huge distraction out of the way. It’s below max, so it’s not quite as much of a hit for Dan Gilbert’s luxury tax bill as it could have been, but it’s more than the reported $80 million the Cavs had been offering previously. Both sides win here, and the Cavs have one of their biggest questions answered.