What the Lakers-Cavaliers trade means for Isaiah Thomas

The biggest trade today will likely be the one that took place between Los Angeles and Cleveland, with the Lakers sending Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavaliers for Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and the Cavs 2018 protected first round pick.

This was a surprising, but not unexpected, move for the Cavaliers. Things were not going well for the Cavaliers and Thomas, with a bevy of chemistry issues plaguing the team and driving a wedge in between players in the locker room. Whether it was a players-only meeting or Thomas vocalizing his frustrations directly to the media, it was clear that the former Celtics point guard was unhappy being on the same team as LeBron James.

“He’s worked too hard to get back, and he’s a ball dominant player,” Thomas’ agent, Aaron Goodwin, said to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. “It’s LeBron’s ball, and this clearly wasn’t working. (Cavs GM) Koby (Altman) and I have had enough conversations where it was clear, with the way the system was going, it wasn’t beneficial for either party. This is a good opportunity for Isaiah.”

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Thomas only played in 15 games with Cleveland and has looked like a different player since returning from a hip injury that kept him from playing in the first half of the 2017-18 season. Thomas may have been the King of the North when he was with Boston, but he looked more like Robb Stark and less like Jon Snow with Cleveland.

Thomas’ agent does have one thing right about this trade: Joining the Lakers is a good opportunity for him. Jordan Clarkson has been one of the most productive bench guards in the league this season, and there’s an opportunity for Thomas to have a high usage, especially with Lonzo Ball out with a knee injury. The Lakers seem like they’ll attempt to bring Thomas back next season, but if LeBron James decides he wants to sign with them, Thomas will be stuck in traffic with a pink slip before he knows what happened.

Thomas has a chance to show Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson that he’s comfortable in the LA spotlight, and that he’s a good soldier who will align his priorities with the team’s priorities. The Lakers have the cap space to add two max free agents in the summer, and it doesn’t appear that Thomas is going to get one of those contracts. But if he can show that he gets along with players like Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, there is appeal to keep him around as a veteran scoring option in the backcourt. It wasn’t that long ago that he was averaging nearly 29 points and six assists per game. If that guy can ever come back remains to be seen.

There’s also something about Thomas that needs to be addressed. This is now the third time that he has been traded from a team because of chemistry issues. Once is a mistake, twice is a trend, thrice is an actual issue. There are a lot of talented players that never find a place in the league because they don’t learn how to play well with others. Not everyone is going to get along all of the time — everyone has a coworker that drives them crazy. The key is to make the best of the situation, be an adult and show some maturity. I don’t know what happened on all those teams with Thomas, but if James can’t tolerate you, that’s a bad sign.

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The trade to Los Angeles gives Thomas a fourth chance, and this is America, the land of second chances. Hopefully he’ll make the most of this chance that he’s been given.