Cavaliers GM David Griffin says he still expects to re-sign Tristan Thompson, but maybe not soon

Tristan Thompson and the Cavaliers were reportedly close to a contract extension.

Then, they were reportedly apart in negotiations.

What now?

Cleveland general manager David Griffin, via Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:

Griff on signing Tristan: "I hope so. I don’t know about relatively soon, but I hope so … I think we’ll wind up getting something done."

— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) July 12, 2015

Thompson still holds the major leverage he did before – sharing an agent, Rich Paul, with LeBron James. LeBron re-signing doesn’t change the Cavaliers’ willingness and need to appease him.

Remember, LeBron can become a free agent again next summer. But, really, even that doesn’t matter. The Cavaliers would still kowtow to LeBron if he were on a 50-year contract, because that’s how this work.

Thompson and Paul surely know that, which is why they’ll wait until Cleveland comes correct with a max or near-max offer.