http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/nba-trade-deadline-live-blog-will-cavaliers-make-bold-move/
Isaiah Thomas is a Los Angeles Laker
Well, that escalated quickly.
Turns out that Cleveland will be sending Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye to the Lakers for Clarkson and Nance Jr.
Thomas has been flat out awful on the court since returning from his hip injury, which has limited his ability to do what he does best and fearlessly attack the basket to create opportunities.
Normally his elite scoring ability offsets the fact that he is an F-minus defender, but if he can’t knock down shots— Thomas is shooting 36 per cent from the floor and 25 per cent from deep— his value is extremely limited. And this trade is proof.
To make matters worse, Thomas has been extremely vocal calling out his Cavs teammates and coaches when talking to the media, which likely plays a part in Cleveland deciding to move on from him after just 15 games.
It’s hard to recall a player’s worth dropping as quickly as Thomas’ has.
Cleveland will also send their own 1st round pick (…not the more-valuable Nets pick) to L.A. as part of the deal.
Once again Cleveland now has a major hole at point guard— they will likely try to fill it using Clarkson (or a veteran acquired on the buyout market), but the former Laker is more of a combo guard. LeBron James’ presence as a facilitator obviously takes some pressure off a player like Clarkson having to conduct the Cavs’ offense.
So, in essence the Cavs traded all-world point guard Kyrie Irving for Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and the Brooklyn pick.
Wild.