Kyrie Irving: 'Cleveland Cavaliers will be playing angry'

The most anticipated season in the 46-year history of the Cleveland Cavaliers tipped off September 28 with Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence.

ESPN reported last week that Thompson would be willing to sign a three-year, $53 million deal, but the Cavs aren't interested in that.

Thompson and agent Rich Paul, a longtime friend and business partner of James, were originally seeking a maximum contract of five years, $94 million. Bucher writes that Thompson "will not sign a long-term deal" if it's not a max contract and he is "prepared" to sign his qualifying offer, which is a one year deal.

Despite now missing Thompson, one of their key cogs from last season's playoff run, the Cavaliers are focused on the task of preparing for the challenges that lie ahead.

The Cavs' former starters Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving are all back in uniform after surgery, but it could take weeks before they play a lot. It seems likely that a few compromise is reached in the near future so he can report to camp although there are no guarantees in this unusual saga.

"When we came back, we were angry", he said.

"He's a huge piece of our team and obviously he showed that to the world how important he is to our team during the postseason", James said. The winners of the Eastern Conference last season looks to rebound and win it all with their core players together for another season.

And just in case you've been Stockholm Syndrome-d into enjoying all the bickering, we'll all get to scream at each other about Timofey Mozgov next summer. The Raptors would have to make several moves to get enough space to make that deal happen, but Thompson is from Canada and could be interested in signing with the team. Plus, Cleveland's already paying an insane amount of money for the rest of the squad and is so far over the luxury tax that I think I can actually hear Dan Gilbert's wallet crying. "And I think Kevin Love will allow me to sit a lot this year just because of his ability, what he's able to do". He averaged 9.6 points and 10.8 rebounds (4.4 offensive) in 36.4 minutes, shooting almost 56 percent. That, as well as the fact that he shares an agent with LeBron James, gives him leverage.

"We also believe strongly that Tristan loves this team and he loves competing with these guys".

"We fully expect that tomorrow he will be here in a few form or fashion", Griffin said during National Basketball Association TV's broadcast of Thursday's training camp. Thompson has taken his contract standoff with the Cavaliers to another level.

Responding to a question about his age and fitness, James said it was getting more hard as the years roll on.