Just like in poker, when you overplay your hand, you lose. That may have been the case with Tristan Thompson and his agent, Rich Paul.
The qualifying offer was Thompson's way to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and get the max contract he is holding out for.
Surprisingly, he let the deadline lapse on October 1, at exactly 11:59pm ET. The QO was his ace, albeit still a risky one, against the Cavs. Now, he has also lost that option. Even if he sits out the entire season, he will not become an unrestricted free agent-just restricted like he is today.
Now, the Cavs seem to have all the cards. According to NBC Sports, these are the implications of Thompson's (non) action.
"He can still sign an offer sheet with another team (he's still a restricted FA) until March 1, and the Cavs would have matching rights." The caveat is that there are only two teams with the cap space to offer him a max level offer: Portland and Philadelphia. Neither team has shown no interest for Thompson.
"He can sign a deal with the Cavs, but he's at the mercy of whatever they decide to offer him." Knowing that they have no competition and that Thompson is devoid of options, there is no incentive for Cleveland to appease their young forward-center at this point.
It should be noted that another Rich Paul client, Eric Bledsoe had the same situation a year ago with the Phoenix Suns, but it ended amicably as the Suns agreed to the deal. Perhaps Paul thought it would also end the same way with Tristan.
Perhaps it might be time for LeBron to step in, despite the King choosing to distance himself from the negotiations. If he can get the Cavs to place their original $ 80 million back on the table, TT might understand that he should take it now.
SB Nation points out that the Canadian is still very limited without LeBron. "Thompson still doesn't create his own offense, he and James have learned how to work together on the pick-and-roll. Thompson's relentless energy and ability to attack the offensive glass makes him a weapon on offense in ways that other non-shooting big men aren't."
This is something Rich Paul should have realized. His client is good, but limited and actually not worth the money he was asking for.