Isaiah Thomas was shocked by his trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it has definitely hurt his value in free agency.
Isaiah Thomas has had a rough year. Suffering a tragic family loss during the playoffs last season, then getting sidelined with a hip injury has impaired his ability to dominate fourth quarters like he did during an MVP-level final run with the Boston Celtics.
It seemed like the Cavaliers were the perfect landing spot for Thomas at first, because he wouldn’t have to rush back from his injury. LeBron James would surely carry the load in the first half of the season, and then Thomas could work himself into form for the playoffs.
That isn’t how it ended up going down. The Cavaliers traded Thomas and Channing Frye to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. shortly before the deadline. They only saw Thomas play in 15 games.
"“I didn’t think they would pull the trigger that fast, 15 games,” he told ESPN. “But again, it’s a business. And the Cavs were, I mean, they were in panic mode. We were losing — a lot. And I think they felt like they needed to make a move, and they basically cleared house.”"
Cleveland was probably panicking a bit, but what purpose does it serve Thomas to call out his former team like this? The list of franchises that would throw huge money at IT is dwindling every day. He will get another contract, but it would be shocking if he gets a max deal this summer.
Magic Johnson has said that Thomas will come off the bench behind Lonzo Ball for the rest of this season, and that isn’t exactly ideal for someone who is auditioning for other teams.
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We’ll have to watch to see if Thomas starts to move a little better as the year goes on. But he should be renting in Los Angeles at the moment, because he’ll most likely have to move again this summer.