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Tristan Thompson is still holding out on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and LeBron James has taken to Instagram to try to get the deal done as soon as possible.
Rich Paul, Thompson's agent, also represents LeBron. Many have noted Tristan Thompson's greatest leverage is sharing an agent with the best player in basketball, and to some extent, they may be right. Both Thompson and Klutch sports have reposted the photo, and they're obviously aware of the sway LeBron has in the organization.
LeBron's been vocal about the Cavaliers keeping Thompson around, saying that he should be a "Cavalier for life" in the past, but as of late, seemed to placing less pressure on the organization than some might have expected.
Many thought James wouldn't sign a new deal until the Cavaliers took care of Thompson, but LeBron signed another deal shortly into the free agency period. Just four days ago, James told reporters that he was done talking about the situation.
"I've already addressed it . . . Play my clips from [Monday]. I've already addressed it. I probably won't address it again too much more. Like I said, I'm optimistic that both sides will get something done and he'll be here sooner than later." - LeBron James
Well, it seems he'd like to nudge both parties towards something sooner. Thompson's absent from camp at the moment, and he's well liked around the locker room. LeBron is aware that this is a team with championship aspirations, and it's a team that could use as few off-court distractions as possible. If animosity develops in these negotiations, it could hurt the bottom line.
As I noted a couple days ago, Thompson's holdout affords him very little leverage. He can't really do anything except hope the Cavaliers struggle without him or a team comes calling with a mega offer sheet that the Cavaliers can match. It makes sense that he and his agency would want to share LeBron's post to try to nudge the Cavaliers in their direction.
In regards to the Cavaliers, there's always a concern in upsetting 'the King', but I wouldn't put too much stock in this. It clearly matters to him and Paul that Thompson get big money, but I think it's a little overstated how much LeBron wants to help Thompson.
LeBron's legacy is at hand here, and he's not going to put TThompson above his own ambitions. He, and the rest of the world, it seems, would like to see a deal done. We'll see if this post makes any progress along that front.