After just 15 games as an active member of the Cavaliers, Isaiah Thomas is on his way out of Cleveland. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported this morning that the Cavs were acquiring Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance from the Lakers, with the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor first reporting that Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye would be going the other way. The Lakers will also get a pick, but not the much-coveted Brooklyn pick.
Thomas was, of course, Cleveland’s most important on-court return for Kyrie Irving, and his unceremonious dumping for two perfectly fine Lakers shows how quickly and abruptly he’s fallen from grace. Between a fucked-up hip and reported clashes with many of his teammates, Thomas’s time with the Cavs was utterly tumultuous. He shot 36 percent from the field in 27 minutes per game, though his spell in Cleveland is more notable for the locker room’s horrible chemistry than anything. His last moments as a Cav were fitting, as he was basically ignored after LeBron’s insane game-winner last night.
As for the Lakers, they’ve now cleared some of the cap space they’ll need in order to take big swings at this summer’s class of free agents. Thomas is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the Lakers most likely have their eyes on bigger fish. Less than a year after leading the Celtics to the first seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and becoming a folk hero, Thomas looks highly unlikely to persuade anyone to “bring out the Brinks truck.”