NBA trade news & rumors: Cavs letting Tristan Thompson walk away?

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers has King James back, it looks like things for Tristan Thompson may be heating up because rumor has it that he and the Cavs are not getting anywhere, with both sides standing by their initial requests.

Sports World Report writes that there is a possibility for Thompson to become a free agent next time because the Cavs are not letting him get an extension plus his agent, Rich Paul, believes a maximum deal might be drawn from the Toronto Raptors next summer. There could also be a Markieff Morris trade off with the Suns while the Raptors extends Terrence Ross' contract.

Thompson and the Cavaliers are in negotiations since summer and as Thompson wishes to have an extended contract with a max deal, Cleveland doesn’t see any great benefits for taking the bait. Of course, Thompson wants what the other players are having since he is very talented just like them.

Sportige adds that with James in tow, Cleveland might be shedding a whopping total of $94 million for the following five seasons and with several big shots like Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson newly signed in, it is obvious why the Cavaliers are not too eager to accept his proposal.

Things are not looking good for Thompson as he is a restricted free agent, therefore no team might offer him a four-year deal that's worth $70 million. If things are looking up, Thompson might sign the contract at $6.8 million then try to be a free agent next year, continuing to be hopeful about those max deals.

Thompson might continue to hope the Raptors will give him a max offer but according to rumors, the team might not just be able to give him what he wants as the Raptors' salary cap is getting low, iSchool Guide writes. The Raptors are already committed to providing $80 million after getting Jonas Valanciunas. Not only that, DeMar DeRozan might request for more money, making the total to a whopping $90 million.

If worse comes to worst, the Raptors will have to do a trade, making DeRozan an ideal candidate and getting a much affordable player like Thompson might be the answer. However, once the Cavs see this, DeRozan might be a good prospect to add to their team although, speculatively, they could just let King James play at the four if deemed necessary.