After Thompson did not accept his one year qualifying offer and also decided not to show up for the team’s training camp or practices, don’t expect anyone within the Cavs organization to stop and think about him at times. Right now, Thompson is not a part of the team, and everybody knows that.
“Right now, my thoughts are just about the guys that are here and how hard and how well they are working and no specific expectation otherwise,” said Cavs coach David Blatt about Thompson’s absence from the team’s practices. “Just happy to see our guys working as well as they are.”
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Blatt didn’t even stay up last night to see whether Thompson accepted the team’s $6.8 million qualifying offer.
“I was liking the dream I was having,” Blatt said smiles . “Usually I don’t go to sleep that early, but last night I was tired. We’re just back at it. We’ve got to focus on the now and here and that’s what we’re doing.”
While the team has begun to focus on themselves and who’s at practice, the Cavs organization has started taking the necessary steps towards removing Thompson’s images and gear from the Quicken Loans Arena. They could very well put those up the next day if Thompson re-signs then, but as of right now, Thompson is not a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and isn’t attending any practices or team functions. Chris Haynes took a photo of what one of the first steps was.
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An elevator at The Q is getting a facelift today… pic.twitter.com/naNoWilFjl
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 2, 2015
Furthermore, the Cavs have also stopped selling all Tristan Thompson merchandise at their team store store, according to a screenshot by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Dave McMenamin
Stay tuned for the latest on Tristan Thompson.