LeBron James sends message in photo with Cavs holdout Tristan Thompson
LeBron James posed for a photograph with Tristan Thompson at a wedding Saturday night in Miami.
The fact that James spent time with Thompson, who is currently in a holdout situation with the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing the first four days of training camp while trying to negotiate a new contract, wasn't particularly noteworthy. They were teammates last season, share an agent in Rich Paul and several other associates from their agency, Klutch Sports, were at the event.
However, the message that James wrote along with the photo while sharing it on his Instagram account certainly was intriguing.
"Get it done!!!!" James wrote, adding the hashtag "#MissMyBrother."
After expressing optimism that Thompson would get a deal done "sooner than later" on media day Monday, James said he "probably won't address it again too much more" when asked about Thompson's contract situation on Tuesday.
James stayed true to his word at first, choosing not to offer any statement Friday after Thompson let a one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer from the Cavs expire Thursday night.
Apparently, Saturday was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
With the qualifying offer off the table, negotiations will presumably shift to the Cavs and Thompson's representatives focusing on a multiyear agreement. Thompson's agent, Paul, recently vacated a five-year, $94 million max contract demand for his client in favor of a preferred three-year, $53 million deal, league sources said. The Cavs already have tendered a five-year, $80 million offer to Thompson, according to sources.
This is not the first time James has used Instagram as a platform to lobby for a Klutch Sports client. In September 2014, James urged the Phoenix Suns to "break bread" with Eric Bledsoe, calling him a "future All-Star in this league in no time." Less than three weeks later, the Suns and Bledsoe settled on a five-year, $70 million extension after Bledsoe initially turned down a four-year, $48 million offer.
