Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James hugs teammate Tristan Thompson during the 2015 NBA Finals. (Photo : Reuters)
LeBron James had been mum about the ongoing Cleveland Cavaliers-Tristan Thompson contract dispute, but finally he posted an online photo with Thompson on Saturday, both of them wearing suits and appeared to be in a wedding ceremony, which said "Get it done!!!!" along with a hashtag of "#MissMyBrother."
Of course, the media asked him about it come Monday, in which the two-time NBA champion responded that he is just optimistic that an agreement between the Cavs and the 24-year-old Canadian will be reached "sooner than later" and that he "probably won't address it again too much more," referring to the contract negotiations, as per ESPN.
What is apparent is that James is standing in between the franchise and Thompson and is urging management to finally agree on something so that the team can focus on another championship run.
The four-time league MVP told reporters that the prolonged discussions are becoming a "distraction" to what the team is currently trying to accomplish and that he just wants to get it over with.
"The last thing you need is a distraction when you try to make a championship run," James said, as reported by RealGM. "And we have that right now. And it's unfortunate for both sides that we're going through it right now as a team. It's not an excuse, we will be ready to go, but hopefully something happens in the near future."
James also noted that the extended contract talk is like an "elephant in the room" that everyone in the Cavs' organization could not just ignore.
The Cavs have offered a five-year, $80 million deal to Thompson, but he wants it to be $94 million in the same span. Recently, his agent Rich Paul suggested a compromise of three years and $53 million, but the management did not agree.
