Trade deadline guide: Isaiah Thomas-type emojis and how to read them

Isaiah Thomas is among a list of Twitterers to shake up the Twitter world with a one character tweet.

I said shake — not stir — because I thought that was a martini at first. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, emojis are worth at least 1,000 characters. Freestanding emojis say a lot without actually saying anything direct, and someone correct might argue that that is exactly what Twitter is for. This is the game you have to play when there are things you want to put out in the world but actually putting them there can result in tumult, and hubbub and fines. Given Thomas’ reasonable contract, money matters.

Read More: NBA Trade Deadline deal tracker

But that leaves people like you, me and the other hapless bystanders looking around all confused-like. What does the hourglass mean? Is it a countdown to the trade deadline or a single trade in particular? Does he know something or is he just posturing? Is the use of an hourglass to mean something different than, say, a clock, watch or sundial? Is that sand in there or mud?

The answer to all these questions is “yes.” That isn’t helpful, and I apologize. To make up for it, I’ve compiled a list of emojis to watch for and how to interpret them.

1) 🛀

This one is obvious. If you see a bathtub emoji, Frank Kaminsky is getting dealt. Kaminsky made headline (singular) this summer by doing whatever the hell this can be described as. Bathtubs are Kaminsky’s corner now. Use of bathtubs for anything other than thinking about Kaminsky is not to be tolerated.

2) 🚯

This one seems pretty clear, too. “My team isn’t trading for trash.” Alternatively “My team better not trade for trash.” Calling an NBA player trash is pretty ridiculous thing to do, but it’s happened before. The whole purpose of the trade deadline is to recycle talent, though, so maybe it applies better here. Regardless, if you see this emoji, feel good about it.

3) 🔙

“I’m being traded back to a team I’ve already been on.” It happened with Tyreke Evans already. Tyreke is not an emoji man, but if he were you can be 100 percent certain this tweet would have been redundant.

Look for this tweet this afternoon. If you’ve seen that player somewhere else, he’s probably returning to that somewhere.

4) 🦀

Crabs are here. The Seattle area is famous for Dungeness crabs. There are other places that also have crabs, but they don’t and will never count. If you see this emoji tweeted, read it as “There is about to be an NBA franchise announced in Seattle and I am being traded there.” It’s about time.

5) 💉

This means that a team will be getting a player who has recently been to Germany to receive blood spinning treatment. That’s a short list of players, too short to list here.

6) 🥝

Steven Adams is coming to your town! Alternatively: “I like kiwis.” Many players take trade deadline day to discuss their favorite fruits, and every once in a while that can make these emoji tweets a bit hazy. Exercise caution when reading into fruit.

7) ‍👨🏿‍🚀

“The person our team is trading for is not Kyrie Irving.” The Kyrie shape-of-the-earth jokes are old hat at this point. I will not make another one here. It’d fall flat.

8) 😾

Karl Anthony-Towns is being traded and he is not happy about it. Some say that cats are never happy, and that this emoji can be read differently. Those people are wrong. Just look at this little guy. And him! Adorable. I wish KAT the best in his new home (Milwaukee).

9) ⛷

The player who tweeted this is headed to Denver or Utah. There are other places that have skiing. For instance, Michigan has a few resorts but many of them are converted landfills. If the ⛷ is accompanied by a 🚮 that probably guarantees they won’t be headed to Detroit, but that’s a two emoji tweet and will likely have to wait to be covered at a future trade deadline.

10) 🤴🏾

This is one to be most wary of. What it means is “Tayshaun Prince is coming out of retirement and whatever team signs him is trading him here.” This is bad news. It’s worse news than 🦉, ‍️🔘 or even 👯‍. I recommend having a “⚠️️” or “️🕳” tweet chambered just in case. You can never be too careful, especially when it comes to royalty.

I do hope this was helpful. Isaiah Thomas was not the first and will not be the last. There are a few other nuances that I couldn’t get to like “what if this was sent from iPhone vs. Android” or “this account isn’t verified” but at least now you can retweet the single-emoji tweets with a bit more confidence. However, if you do have any questions please keep them to yourself because they’re not helping.