The Isaiah Thomas Era in Cleveland lasted all of 15 games, but IT says it remains an experience for which he’s grateful.
The Cavs shipped the 29-year-old point guard to the Los Angeles Lakers at the trade deadline.
It was only 15 games, but still an experience that I’m grateful for. Thank you to the Cleveland Cavaliers organization for granting me the opportunity to rock the wine and gold this season. God bless and see you on the other side.
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) February 9, 2018
The Marathon Continues! #LakeShow #ThatSLOWgrind
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) February 9, 2018
Thomas is said to be thrilled about his new situation, and the Cavs are also happily moving on from the failed experiment.
Per the AP:
“We were really worried that what was going on on the floor and sort of our culture in the building that we were marching a slow death,” [Cavs general manager Koby] Altman said. “And we didn’t want to be a part of that.”
The Cavs shipped Thomas, forward Channing Frye and one of their 2018 first-round picks to the Lakers for point guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Larry Nance Jr., two athletic 25-year-olds who can potentially be part of Cleveland’s core for years to come.
“You make a trade and you want it to succeed, like anything else,” Altman said in assessing the Thomas-for-Irving deal. “The level of value we got back in the Kyrie Irving trade was pretty good. Did it fit? Did it work? Probably not. So with those pieces, we decided to shuffle the deck and get younger and get some youthful talent with energy and enthusiasm, great cultural pieces that I want to be a part of.”
