Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James has admitted that Tristan Thompson's contract dispute with the club has become a distraction for the rest of the squad.
The 24-year-old and the Cavaliers have been involved in negotiations throughout the off-season, but have yet to come to a long-term agreement.
Thompson reportedly wants a maximum contract from the club over five years, which they are unwilling to meet after handing out deals to Iman Shumpert, Kevin Love and James already this year.
"It's kind of like the elephant in the room all over, for everybody," James told reporters. "Hopefully some resolve can happen sooner than later.
"You know, obviously, we continue to say, I continue to say how his value to us is extreme, as we saw last year in the postseason, throughout the season. I'm not here to talk about numbers, things of that nature, because that's for them, for both sides to figure out.
"The last thing you need is a distraction when you try to make a championship run. And we have that right now. And it's unfortunate for both sides that we're going through it right now as a team. It's not an excuse, we will be ready to go but hopefully something happens in the near future."
The Cavaliers begin their season against the Chicago Bulls on October 27.
