Report: LeBron won't negotiate with Cavs until Thompson is signed
Many star players have been busy recruiting on behalf of their teams this summer, but LeBron James is not among them. That is because James is a free agent after opting out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James is widely expected to sign a new contract to stay with the Cavs, but he is apparently using his leverage to ensure the team signs one of his buddies first.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports that James is waiting for the Cavs to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Tristan Thompson before re-signing with the team.
James and Thompson have the same agent, Rich Paul. Contract talks between the Cavs and Thompson reportedly have "stalled."
Though the Cavs are expected to re-sign both Thompson and James, there is a consequence to the prolonged negotiations. Without James under contract, he will not be recruiting free agents to the team. He supposedly was not going to re-recruit Kevin Love, who signed a five-year deal with the team anyway, and reportedly is not going to recruit David West.
West surprised many by opting out of his contract with the Pacers, and has said he wants to play for a contender. The Cavs certainly will contend for a championship, but will they have too many big men to be interested in West? Their frontcourt might be loaded, but what it comes down to is whether West would take a massive cut to play for the Cavs.
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