Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson
Oct 31, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (13) scores past Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) during the second half at the United Center. Cleveland won 114-108 in overtime. Reuters

Cleveland Cavaliers back-up big man reportedly turned down a 4-year, $52 million extension which could have netted the Canadian player an annual salary north of $12 million. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports relayed that Thompson's agent Rich Paul, who is also representing LeBron James, advised his client of turning down the extension before the Oct. 31 deadline lapsed.

"Within the NBA, officials expected maybe $10 million a year, perhaps $12 million if Klutch wanted to push it. Well, they kept pushing it. Thompson turned down a $13 million-a-year extension offer - four-years, $52 million, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski said in his latest article.

The expose is the latest in the series of rumblings within the league that James and Paul are venturing into the management aspect of the Cavaliers. There was the infamous coming home speech which curiously omitted 2014 number 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins and a month later he is shipped off to Minnesota for superstar big man Kevin Love. There was the signing of James close allies Mike Miller and James Jones. And now, the extension of Thompson is looking more and more as a side-deal to James' return to Ohio.

The front office troubles are only magnified by the on-court struggles of the team. Despite having 3 maximum players on the roster, the cavaliers are below 0.500 (19-20) and is only good for sixth in the Eastern Conference. The team has restructured its roster during James' absence to tend to back and knee problems and is integrating on the fly new acquisitions such as J.R. Smith, Timofey Mozgov and soon-to-be returning Iman Shumpert.

Thompson is having an average year backing up Love and seeing some minutes at the centre spot before the Mozgov trade. The 23-year-old player is averaging 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds on a career high 54% shooting from the field. It is unclear if any team would be ponying up an offer of more than $13 million annually in the summer when Thompson becomes a restricted free agent. Nevertheless, this latest report lends some credence that James and his agency have some pressure and power over the organization, which is never a good thing for the struggling Cavaliers.

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