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Tristan Thompson finally ended his long-running contract negotiations with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday and agreed to a new five-year, $82 million contract.
The gamble for Thompson and his agent Rich Paul certainly ended up working out for the best and there was added motivation for the Cavs to get it done once LeBron James started calling the ongoing saga a "distraction" at training camp.
But the reaction was swift from Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins upon hearing the news.
How much???
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) October 21, 2015
This is precisely why Cousins has a certain je ne sais quoi to his Twitter presence and how it's an extension of his personality, and he'll say what's on his mind unlike some of his other peers.
Cousins signed a four-year maximum contract extension in 2013 that totaled out to $62 million and he is the 33rd highest paid player in the NBA this season at roughly $14.7 million. He averaged career highs of 24.1 points, 1.7 blocks and 12.7 rebounds last season and holds career averages of 18.9 points and 10.6 rebounds over five seasons.
After Kevin Love went down with an injury against the Boston Celtics in the postseason, Thompson certainly had his moments with his increased role and he was a beast on the boards. But he will be back to coming off the bench to help a championship contender and sharing minutes not just with Love but also Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao. And of course there's the fact that he's not an elite scorer by any stretch of the imagination.
With the reduced role last year on a new-look roster, Thompson's averages fell to 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds playing 26.8 minutes. His career averages of 10.1 points. 0.7 blocks and 8.4 rebounds simply don't compare to Cousins' numbers, which is perhaps why the Kings star appeared to be incredulous last night.
What remains to be seen is how both players will react on the court the first time these two teams face each other in the regular season, though it's safe to say "Boogie" might have something to say about it again on social media.