NBA big man Tristan Thompson is moving on to another new team, his fourth within the past several years.
According to ESPN, the Indiana Pacers are officially waiving him, and Thompson will next sign a deal to play with the Chicago Bulls.
With that announcement, Thompson shared a message to Pacers fans on social media, and commenters let him have it amid his ongoing situation with his baby mama and child support.
Thompson thanks Pacers organization and fans
Following the news that Tristan Thompson was done playing for the Pacers after just four games, he took to Instagram to thank Indiana and its fans and praised two of his former teammates.
“Indy, thank you for everything! I really appreciate all the love and energy I received from everyone from the organization and the fan base. I always admired the @pacers franchise and have had some amazing playoff battles. Even though my time was short, I appreciated every minute of it,” Thompson said in his Instagram caption.
Thompson then turned his attention towards his former Pacers teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield.
“Even though I’m gone, my two brothers in this picture will do some great things and make this organization and city proud. Love these two guys. Will always be watching them and cheering them on. Till next time Indy. Thank you ??,” he wrote.
He shared a series of photos, one of which featured him walking with Hield and Haliburton at an airport and another showing them inside a jet together. A third photo featured Thompson wearing his Indiana Pacers uniform.
In addition to the Indiana Pacers, Thompson played for the Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics in the past few years, after spending his first nine seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
His final stats with the Pacers included 29 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 66 minutes played across four games.
Commenters roast Thompson about child support situation
Thompson’s post brought a variety of comments from fans, many of whom joked about his length of stay with the Indiana Pacers organization, some even suggesting they should retire his jersey.
However, more than a few commenters brought up Tristan Thompson’s current situation with his newest child, Angelou, or made jabs referencing his ex Khloe Kardashian.
“Get to work you got to pay for your new baby ?,” one individual commented.
“Maralee called,” another fan wrote in the comments for Thompson, referring to his baby mama Maralee Nichols.
“Don’t make any babies in Chi-Town,” one commenter suggested to Thompson as far as his focus with the Bulls.
“Khloe pay for that?” another asked the former Pacers player.
Thompson currently shares 3-year-old daughter True Thompson with Khloe and 4-year-old son Prince with his ex Jordan Craig.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Thompson had fathered a son with fitness model Maralee Nichols. However, Nichols claimed that Thompson had yet to meet his son, born in early December, or provide financial support of any kind.
As Monsters & Critics reported, after a paternity test revealed Thompson was Angelou’s father, the NBA star posted about the matter on his Instagram Story, saying he took “full responsibility” for his actions and would “amicably” help raise Angelou.
Ahead of that, Hollywood Life shared an alleged message sent from Thompson to Nichols in December. In the message, Thompson told Nichols he wouldn’t be involved in the baby’s life and offered her $75,000 to drop her paternity lawsuit against him. Per Thompson’s message, he also said he was planning to retire from the NBA and told Nichols she wouldn’t get anything near $75,000 from a “father who’s unemployed.”
Closing his alleged message to Nichols, Thompson told her all she would have “is a baby with a father who has zero involvement with the child and a few hundred dollars of child support a month.”