Isaiah Thomas: 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. The Marathon Continues! #LakeShow #ThatSLOWgrind
Storyline: Isaiah Thomas Trade
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The Lakers’ complicated landscape was highlighted in unexpected form on ESPN’s airwaves on Thursday afternoon, when Goodwin was watching the NBA show The Jump with host Rachel Nichols and decided to chime in when the notion of Thomas possibly coming off the bench was raised. “HE IS NOT COMING OFF THE BENCH,” Goodwin texted Nichols, who added that Thomas would likely push for a buyout if he was not going to be a starter. Anyone who has paid attention during Thomas’ against-all-odds career knows how much he despises coming off the bench. In Nov. 2014, during an interview with USA TODAY Sports for a story about the Sixth Man stigma during his time as a Phoenix Suns reserve, he said, “(Starting) has been my mindset from Day 1, since I was a little boy. I mean, everybody wants to be a starter. I’d be lying to you if I said it doesn’t bother me that I don’t start.”
Did it surprise you how sideways everything became (in Cleveland)? I mean, Isaiah fights for seven months to get back, and he has his future on the line, the whole situation had to be frustrating. Aaron Goodwin: You’re absolutely right. He fought to get himself in this position so he could be healthy and play. To kind of be hindered a little bit was frustrating. Although he was trying to fight through it and trying to be a good team player, this was not his style of play. I think that it became clear over the course of the last few weeks that (the Cavs) would have to figure out some type of way to utilize two players at the same time, and it wasn’t going to work.
He said the day before the deal that he wanted to be somewhere where he was wanted, and that he was tired of being traded. Have you talked to him, and what’s his reaction to the deal? Aaron Goodwin: His reaction is exactly that. He wanted to be somewhere where he’s wanted, and he wanted to be in Cleveland.
Did Isaiah Thomas inspire this move with his outspoken ways in these past few weeks? Amick: In a word, yes. The locker room dynamic was not healthy, and Thomas’ penchant for speaking his mind about the inner turmoil only made matters worse. Add in the fact that he struggled during his 15-game stay and the Cavs were more than happy to send him to the exits. There is a strong sense from Thomas’ side that James was among those who wanted to see him go – a claim that is refuted by James’ associates. Either way, Thomas now gets a better pathway to his own free agency this summer while the Cavs can get to work repairing their well-chronicled chemistry problems.
“He’s worked too hard to get back, and he’s a ball dominant player,” said Thomas’ agent, Aaron Goodwin. “It’s LeBron’s ball, and this clearly wasn’t working. 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.”
Goodwin said Thomas did not ask to be traded. On Wednesday, Thomas said he didn’t want to be traded, but also that he wanted to play “where I’m wanted.”
Thomas also angered teammates and coaches with his public and private criticisms while he struggled personally. His most recent blast — a suggestion after Tuesday’s loss to Orlando that the Cavs’ coaching staff didn’t make enough in-game adjustments this season.
Michael Lee: Isaiah Thomas got his name because his dad, James (an LA native), bet a friend that the Lakers would beat Isiah Thomas & the Detroit Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals. Isaiah arrived months earlier but dad stuck with the name, mom chose a different spelling. Now he’s a Laker
Bill Oram: I’m told this will be the Lakers only major deal, although there always could be something minor on the back end (like Huertas/Ennis swap last year)
Adrian Wojnarowski: Three impactful details on trade for Lakers: They’ll have space for two max contract slots in 2018 or 2019, replenish first-round pick in 2018 Draft and gets Lakers some shooting for rest of season with Thomas and Frye.
Ramona Shelburne: The Lakers intend to keep both Frye and IT, per source.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Cavaliers also sending its 2018 first-round pick in deal to Lakers, league sources tell ESPN.
Adam Himmelsbach: Isaiah’s father is a big, big Lakers fan.
Jason Jones: Isaiah wanted to sign with the Lakers when he ended up in Phoenix. Lakers went with Jeremy Lin instead twitter.com/wojespn/status…
Isaiah Thomas to Lakers
Adrian Wojnarowski: Cleveland is sending Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye to the Lakers for Clarkson and Nance, league source tells ESPN.
Kevin O’Connor: I’m hearing it’s Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, and the Cavs first to Lakers for Clarkson and Nance.
Joe Vardon: I am hearing Isaiah Thomas may be moved today, stay tuned
Mary Schmitt Boyer/Jodie Valade: Isaiah Thomas said he likes in in Cleveland and wants to stick around: “I want to be where I’m wanted… I’m tired of being traded.” #Cavs
I’ve heard the Clippers would strongly consider (acquiring Isaiah Thomas for DeAndre Jordan) if the Cavs added the Brooklyn 2018 first-round draft pick that they acquired in the Kyrie Irving. I’ve heard the Cavs don’t plan to trade that pick.
Bill Doyle: More Ainge on Thomas: You guys know how much I love Isaiah. He’s a great kid and I wish him the best.
There is hope that recently acquired Cleveland Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas can return to the court before the end of the calendar year. But even though the return of the diminutive maestro is still a couple of months away, he’s not waiting on the sidelines in the ongoing war of words between the Cavaliers and his former Boston Celtics team.
Gordon Hayward: When the rumors about Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving started, I tried not to worry about it too much. This offseason especially, there have been so many rumors, and so many different things have happened. I really was just focused on continuing to work out, continuing to put the time in. But it really started to get real when this happened:
Gordon Hayward: My first reaction was to text I.T., and wish him the best. That was a really strange moment because I’d really been looking forward to playing with him. He didn’t just help recruit me to Boston—he was a big piece of that recruitment. He had talked a lot about city and how it was different to be a Celtic. He talked about the intensity of playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, playing at the Garden in the playoffs, and how much fun it was, and how much fun he had playing in Boston.
Gordon Hayward: All of that ultimately helped win me over. And by the time of the trade, I had already started to build a little bit of a relationship with him. But that is just how the business works. I have spent enough years in the NBA to realize that things can change like that, in an instant. Still, even though we didn’t necessarily get to be teammates, I’m definitely going to be watching him as a fan. In this league, I think we are all rooting for each other in some way or another—just to try to stay healthy, to try to be the best we can be.
As Celtics training camp approaches, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge appears at ease with the major overhaul to the roster over the summer. In the coming weeks and months, the Celtics will have to find their locker room leader and spiritual leader because the incumbents — Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder — were traded to the Cavaliers. The Celtics’ brass essentially have no idea one week before camp who will assume these roles. Nothing at this point is certain, and Ainge is OK with that. “So when we acquired Isaiah, nobody knew he was going to be this Isaiah,” Ainge said. “Going into it nobody knew he was going to be the player that he was last year. When we got Jae Crowder in the trade for [Rajon] Rondo, nobody knew who Jae Crowder was. They just knew he didn’t play very much in Dallas.
Isaiah Thomas said the Boston Celtics he left behind were as shocked as he was when he was traded to the Cavaliers. “After all you did, that’s how they do you,” Thomas said to cleveland.com. “That was everybody’s text message. … I can’t control that and my teammates know what I meant to that team and the organization knows and that’s what matters the most. The people I was around each and every day. “But I think not just myself, everybody was surprised. Everybody.”
Isaiah Thomas: And then somewhere in there, it was just like … it was barely anything. This little pause in the conversation. And that’s when Danny Ainge told me. “I just traded you.” Simple as that. No big words, no big speech. Though I guess when it comes to shit like that, there’s not much more to say. “To where.” That’s all I could manage. “To the Cavaliers, for Kyrie.” You ever been on the phone, and someone says something … and then all of a sudden, all you can think about after is, I don’t want to be on the phone anymore? Not even in a rude way. Just, like, your willpower to have a conversation shuts down. That’s what it was like for me in that moment. Danny started going on about everything I’ve done for the city of Boston, and for the Celtics organization, both on and off the court. About what a great player I am, and how I’m going to be great in Cleveland. You know, telling me that type of stuff. And it was just like … at that point in time? I definitely didn’t want to hear none of that.
Isaiah Thomas: It’s not that I don’t understand it. Of course I get it: This is a business. Danny is a businessman, and he made a business move. I don’t agree with it, just personally, and I don’t think the Boston Celtics got better by making this trade. But that’s not my job. That’s Danny’s. And it’s a tough job, and he’s been really good at it. But at the end of the day, these deals just come down to one thing: business. So it’s no hard feelings on that end. I’m a grown man, and I know what I got into when I joined this league — and so far it’s been more blessings than curses. I’m not sitting here, writing this, because I feel I was wronged. I wasn’t wronged. It was Boston’s right to trade me.
Guys go down next to LeBron James year after year, yet very little has stopped the party since 2007 — and not at all since 2010. And while a whole lot of people got their knickers twisted when Cleveland temporarily braked the deal, the end result was as good as anyone in Northern Ohio could expect, given the complete lack of leverage the Cavaliers had once Irving’s trade demands and unhappiness became public. (No, Koby Altman’s future as a GM isn’t ruined; everyone around the league knows the straight jacket every Cleveland exec is in, with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert driving the bus. Hey, he paid for the bus; he can drive it if he wants. Altman did a hell of a job getting what he got.)
But that doesn’t mean this whole rigmarole with Irving sits well in JamesWorld. You don’t chase Michael Jordan’s ghost with fresh new faces; you need grunts like the guy who went all over France looking for Private Ryan. Irving had earned his stripes and LeBron James was expecting a grand pursuit of Paul George or Jimmy Butler this summer to close the gap with the Golden State Warriors, not losing one of his best teammates and having to scramble.
Anyway, James can afford to be sanguine about his future. Wherever he plays, championship opportunities follow. The Cavs don’t have that luxury. Which is why they were never going to blow up the proposed deal from the Celtics. That deal held the key to their future — their post-LeBron future. There was no chance they were going to walk away from that. The unprotected 2018 pick, whether it’s the first pick next June or the fifth, gives Cleveland a chance at a pre-20-year-old talent that it never would have a shot at through the rest of this decade, and probably well into the next.
Danny Ainge had to pull the trigger. The gulf between the Cavs and Celtics in the conference finals last year was enormous. Boston couldn’t match Cleveland’s firepower, whether in the halfcourt or in transition. The NBA is all about scoring, and if you have enough elite two-way players like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on your team, you have a chance to be able to play enough defense to win big. The Celtics had very good defenders in Crowder and Amir Johnson, but you couldn’t start two non-scoring threats against the Cavs. Kyrie Irving is the best — the best — player in the league with the basketball. Better than Westbrook, who’s electric and fierce, and John Wall, who’s a blur. There’s no one who can stay in front of Irving; he goes from zero to scalding in about four seconds.
“I’ll leave it to your own imaginations to realize how difficult that conversation might have been—for me and Isaiah,” Ainge said after the trade. “Isaiah had just an amazing season this year and entertained us all—the whole city of Boston, and everybody fell in love with him. You know, he’s such an underdog because of his size and his heart and his spirit in which he plays. It was very challenging to make this decision.” An agent texted me that “Danny would trade his son Austin if he had to.”
Thomas was never the focal point of these negotiations from the Cavs’ perspective, one source with knowledge of the talks told The Athletic. From the start, the Cavs made clear to the Celtics that James’ uncertain status beyond this season left them prioritizing restocking the cupboards in the event he leaves again.
Gilbert’s fingerprints were all over the drama that’s unfolded over the past week. Thomas’s health is what held up the deal, but according to multiple league sources with knowledge of Cleveland’s thought process, the unprotected Nets pick and Crowder were the pieces that Cleveland valued the most—those were the assets that got the deal done, not Thomas. The perception of the trade was that the Cavaliers and Celtics swapped franchise point guards, but for the Cleveland front office (and its owner), Thomas was the icing, not the cake.
The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers this evening jointly announced the following: In conjunction with finalizing the trade involving Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a 2018 1st round pick the Celtics acquired via Brooklyn, the Celtics and Cavaliers have agreed to modify the terms of the trade such that Boston will also send Miami’s 2020 2nd round pick to Cleveland.
Gary Washburn: Have been told that Kyrie is “ecstatic” about the trade, looking forward to playing for Brad Stevens and understand the #Celtics tradition.
The Celtics resisted the Cavaliers’ desire for a first-round pick to compensate the Cavs’ reluctance to sign off on Isaiah Thomas’ hip injury, and Cleveland finally agreed to consummate the deal late Wednesday night. Irving is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference in Boston on Friday, league sources said.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Cleveland, Boston have reached an agreement, league source tells ESPN.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Boston is sending Cleveland a 2020 second-round pick to complete the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade, league source tells ESPN.
Joe Vardon: The Cavs and Boston have reached agreement; Boston will send Miami’s 2020 second round pick, league source says
David Aldridge: Cavaliers valued Brooklyn ’18 pick too much to potentially blow up deal w/ Boston. Question now is how long Thomas will be out.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Story posting soon w/ @McTen: Within hours of 10 AM deadline, Cleveland still pursuing 1st-round pick to complete Irving/IT trade w/ Boston.
So, the Cavaliers and Celtics are discussing how to complete their trade, which is held up by Thomas’ physical. Will the Cavs request another pick? If they don’t get it, will they void the deal entirely? Former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin on NBA TV: “Sometimes in these situations, you think of it as mutually assured destruction. There’s not a lot of upside to deal coming undone for either side. And because of that, I think it will end up going through as is.”
The Cleveland-Boston standoff over Isaiah Thomas’s health also signaled the rest of the league: The bidding for Kyrie Irving is still open. It looks unlikely the Cleveland Cavaliers will pry a better haul than the Boston Celtics’ standing offer of Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ unprotected pick in the 2018 draft — even with Thomas’ status so uncertain due to a lingering hip injury. That may embolden Boston to draw the line at one or two more second-round picks after Cleveland finally asked them Tuesday night for extra compensation.
Boston was forthright about the injury in talks with Cleveland before the teams agreed to a trade on Aug. 22, sources say, but Cleveland’s doctors may come to a different conclusion about Thomas’ prognosis for the coming season — the last before LeBron James enters free agency as a flight risk again. If recovery from various hip ailments, including a bone bruise, does not proceed smoothly, there is at least a slight chance Thomas would miss most of the 2017-18 season, sources say. (Thomas disagrees.)
Isaiah Thomas addresses injury rumors
All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas believes he will fully recover from a right hip injury that has threatened to void his recent trade to Cleveland. Thomas, who was dealt by the Boston Celtics to the Cavaliers last week for star Kyrie Irving, told ESPN he has made progress in his recovery. “I am not damaged,” the 28-year-old said. “I’ll be back, and I’ll be the same player.”
Thomas told ESPN that doctors said his torn labrum will not affect how long he plays. However, Thomas did indicate he may not be ready for the start of the season. “There’s never been an indication that I wouldn’t be back, and there’s never been an indication that this is something messing up my career,” he said. “Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I’m going to be back, and I’m going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that.”
“I haven’t had one doctor tell me that this injury is going to hurt my career,” Thomas said in the ESPN interview. “Surgery was not the best option in this case. I aggravated it in March when (Minnesota’s) Karl-Anthony Towns fell on me. I kept playing on it and making it worse — until I couldn’t play anymore last season.”
Given how far along the two sides are and what the Cavs are getting in return for disgruntled point guard Kyrie Irving — Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s 2018 unprotected first round pick — former Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin believes protege Koby Altman should proceed as planned, saying he would make the same deal if still running the front office. “I think I would have,” Griffin told NBA TV late Tuesday night. “I really think Koby Altman made a tremendous trade here, given the circumstances. When you’re trying to win a championship, there is no in between. You’re all the way with me, or you’re all the way against me. And I think this was a situation where Kyrie made it clear he had a goal set that might not have jived with what Cleveland’s was.
“They made a deal that, even in the absence of Isaiah Thomas, is a tremendous collection of assets and value Koby was able to get. At the same time, Boston made a trade to get a piece that really could be the key for them — a 25-year old player in his prime who is an NBA champion, an Olympic champion and is really just starting to scratch the surface of who he can be.”
Multiple sources told cleveland.com that as of Tuesday afternoon, Cleveland hadn’t asked the Celtics for anything extra. Wojnarowski reports the two sides began to engage each other on a “solution.”
Cleveland and Boston officials started to engage each other on a solution on Tuesday, league sources told ESPN. Cleveland is no longer seeking one of the Celtics’ top young players or significant draft picks, league sources said. The Cavaliers could be inclined to complete the deal for a late first-round pick or second-round considerations, league sources said.
All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas told ESPN that he has made significant progress with his injured hip toward a return in the 2017-18 season and has a message for NBA teams doubting his long-term prognosis. “I am not damaged,” Thomas told ESPN on Tuesday. “I’ll be back, and I’ll be the same player.”
“There’s never been an indication that I wouldn’t be back, and there’s never been an indication that this is something messing up my career,” Thomas told ESPN. “Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I’m going to be back, and I’m going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that.”
Thomas has been in consistent contact with Cavaliers officials since his physical on Friday in Cleveland, he said. “I don’t know what [the organization] is doing,” Thomas told ESPN. “It’s out of my control. I just want to talk about what I can control, and I know that this (hip) won’t be a problem into the future.”
If Cleveland really does want more in exchange for Kyrie Irving, the Celtics don’t know the specifics. There has been no contact between the two teams since multiple reports surfaced that the Cavaliers, alarmed by the results of Isaiah Thomas’ physical last Friday, now want more in exchange for Irving.
The Celtics are said to have no contingency plan in place — due to the lack of contact — and no plan to either include another asset to make the trade go through or to draw a line and refuse further compensation.
The Celtics medical staff, headed by Dr. Brian McKeon, was in extensive contact with its Cleveland counterpart in the days leading up to the Aug. 22 trade, with an equally extensive exchange of information stemming from Thomas’ recovery from a torn labrum in his right hip.
Sirius XM NBA: “I think they still follow up on the deal, they did a good job.”-Fmr Cavs GM David Griffin on value Cavs acquired from Celtics other than IT
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald on The Vertical Podcast with Chris Mannix (hat tip: Tom Westerholm of MassLive): “My read is actually from the Cleveland side, and what I hear from there is that nothing they’ve found is anything different than what was conveyed to the Cavaliers in the trade discussions, and certainly in the medical information that was passed forward.”
Rose is past his latest surgery, one that repaired his meniscus and, probably mercifully, ended his season with the Knicks. He isn’t worried about how the now-tenuous trade between Boston and Cleveland with the principals being star point guards Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas works out; Rose is willing to play with either one.
Sirius XM NBA: “I’ll be shocked if this deal doesn’t happen, it’s too far down the road.” -ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan on the Kyrie for Isaiah/Crowder deal
After giving Thomas his physical, the Cavs weren’t convinced that the Celtics were fully forthcoming about the extent of Thomas’ hip injury, so they’re looking to restructure the trade with added assets. We don’t know exactly what assets Cleveland is asking for, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowki reported on SportsCenter on Sunday that they’ll definitely ask about rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year wing Jaylen Brown.
“Boston is resisting, and will initially at least, resist this idea,” Wojnarowski said. “Boston believes that it was completely transparent with Cleveland about where Thomas was physically, his rehab. Cleveland’s version of this is that they didn’t realize how long Thomas could potentially be out this season, he’s in the final year of his contract, and obviously, that matches up with what will likely be the final year of LeBron’s current deal, and so there’s going to be a showdown between these two teams that may last a couple more days.”
Adam Kaufman: Per @Chris Mannix on @CSNNE, #Celtics will draw line in sand. May part with a 2nd Rd pick to complete #Cavs deal. No firsts/Brown/Tatum.
At a recent event in Massachusetts, Celtics coach Brad Stevens had to explain to a young Boston fan why they traded Thomas. Stevens did a good job complementing Thomas’ legacy in Boston and his contributions to team, eventually telling the young fan that the business of basketball simply had some tough decisions to be made from time to time.
Adrian Wojnarowski: “It puts Isaiah Thomas in a really difficult place. He’s gonna be a free agent at the end of this season and he’s looking for the biggest financial score of his career. And both teams dragging him through this is really unfair to his future because he may very well get through and be fully recovered when he gets into free agency next year. The focus is really on how soon can he play this season. But it’s certainly damaging his value around the league, and probably unfairly so.”
The Cavaliers declined to comment on a new ESPN report that the team would seek further compensation for Kyrie Irving because of the severity of Isaiah Thomas’ hip injury. Two Cavs sources said Saturday night only that the team was “still in the review process” in determining what do about the week’s blockbuster trade with Boston, in which Cleveland agreed to ship Irving to the Celtics for Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and Brooklyn’s No. 1 pick.
A Cavs source said the two sides need to reach a conclusion by Wednesday evening or mutually agree to extend the deadline. Though the Cavs could void the trade based on Thomas’ injury, a source with knowledge of Cleveland’s thinking still expected a deal to get done. However, numerous report said out of Boston suggested the Celtics were not happy with the Cavs’ tactics and may take a hard line.
After Cleveland’s physical examination of Isaiah Thomas’ injured hip raised concern about the timeline for his return this season, Cavaliers officials are planning to seek an additional trade asset before finalizing a deal to send four-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics, league sources told ESPN. Without revisions to the original trade agreement, the Cavaliers could threaten to veto the trade, league sources said.
The Cavaliers’ stance could trigger a standoff between Cleveland and Boston officials, forcing both organizations to weigh the consequences of letting blockbuster trade implode. The deadline to report and submit to a physical for the players involved in the trade is 10 a.m. on Wednesday, and the deadline to pass the physical is 10 a.m. on Thursday, per league rules.
A Cavs source said the two sides need to reach a conclusion by Wednesday evening or mutually agree to extend the deadline. Though the Cavs could void the trade based on Thomas’ injury, sources still expect a deal to get done.
If both teams mutually agree to extend the deadline, they can. Once the sides re-engage, Cavaliers officials may try to make the case that Boston undersold them on the scope of the Thomas injury, and more specifically, how soon Thomas could be prepared to play this season, league sources said. The sides did discuss and share information on Thomas’s injury, sources said.
Because Thomas is in the final year of his contract — which coincides with LeBron James’ opt-out next summer — Cleveland has an urgency to get Thomas on the court this year. All along, Boston has believed it was clear in its assessment of Thomas’ physical status and that information was communicated to the Cavaliers in the conversations prior to Tuesday’s trade, league sources said. In a telephone conference call with reporters after the trade was announced, Celtics GM Danny Ainge admitted that Thomas’ physical condition played “some” role in trading Thomas to Cleveland as part of the Irving package.
Chris Mannix: Boston believes it was completely transparent w/Cleveland on IT’s hip injury, per sources. Expect Celtics to strongly resist any sweetener.
Besides its own future first-round picks, Boston has possible access to future protected picks from the Los Angeles Lakers (2018), Los Angeles Clippers (2019) and Memphis Grizzlies (2019). Boston does have control several second-round draft picks too, which could also be included into a deal.
The Cavaliers are indeed pausing to consider a “concern that we have” regarding Isaiah Thomas’ right hip, a source told cleveland.com, while Kyrie Irving is undergoing his physical today in Boston. Two sources with knowledge of the Cavs’ thinking said the team is conducting a “very deep and thorough review process” on Thomas, whom Cleveland acquired Tuesday in a blockbuster trade along with Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn No. 1 pick for Irving.
In the aftermath of issues resulting from Isaiah Thomas’ physical examination on Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are planning a telephone call for Saturday to discuss the status of the teams’ blockbuster trade, league sources told ESPN. The proposed deal sending Cleveland’s four-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics for Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a 2018 first-round pick via Brooklyn has been thrust into uncertainty with medical questions surrounding Thomas’ injured hip, league sources told ESPN.
It is possible that Cleveland could request further compensation from Boston before it’ll approve the trade, league sources said. Cleveland has until Thursday to make a final decision on approving the trade, sources said. Cleveland can veto the deal based on a failed physical, sending players back to their respective teams. Thomas took the exam in Cleveland on Friday before flying back home to the West Coast, league sources said. “It’s very sensitive situation,” one source involved in the process told ESPN.
Irving, who had requested a trade from Cleveland, is set to take his physical with the Celtics on Saturday, league sources said. Thomas has been rehabilitating a hip injury that ended his season in the Eastern Conference Finals, and sources have told ESPN that the All-Star guard has yet to begin a regimen of running this offseason.
Kyle Draper: This #Cavs #Celtics situation is wild. My guess. #Celtics doctors said IT does NOT need surgery. #Cavs doctors feel otherwise.
Two people with knowledge of the situation say the Cleveland Cavaliers are doing a “deep and thorough” review of their blockbuster trade that sent All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the team is not publicly discussing its plans.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are concerned about the health of point guard Isaiah Thomas’ right hip, according to ESPN, jeopardizing the blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics that sent Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and a first-round pick to the Cavaliers for point guard Kyrie Irving. Thomas took a physical in Cleveland on Friday, and the results have given the Cavs pause on proceeding with the deal.
Zach Lowe: Cavs sent farewell tweet to Kyrie ~2 hrs later, 3 hrs after reports of done deal. Teams are often paranoid re talking before deals official.
July 21, 2018 | 9:58 pm EDT Update
“I know I’ll be on a team next year. I’m not worried about that part,” Chalmers said. “I am still going, waiting on a contract right now. I’m right here, handling my event this time of year. I’ll figure my next move after that. It’s just a matter of time. They (NBA teams) are getting all the young guys, all the big free agents out of the way now. I’m just waiting my turn.”
Since the end of that 2017-18 campaign, one in which he averaged 21.5 minutes per game, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Chalmers has been competing in pro-am leagues in both Miami and Houston. The Grizzlies recently renounced his rights, meaning he is a free agent. “I’m very proud. A lot of people don’t really come back from that injury,” Chalmers said Friday at Lawrence’s Schwegler Elementary School where his Mario V. Chalmers Foundation sponsored a “field day” for the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence.
Mario Chalmers: “Now it (recovering from Achilles tear) is more common. More people are doing it now. They can look at me for inspiration, see how I came back, look at Kobe (Bryant), how he came back. Players are proving they can come back from that injury.”
Gustavo Zermeno, a lifelong Lakers fan who put up the mural, said its message was that James was coming to the Lakers with respect and understanding of the legends he is following. With the image of James looking up to former Lakers stars, Zermeno hoped the message of the art would keep vandals and haters from hitting it.
“I am surprised,” Zermeno told ESPN about his art being vandalized. “This is the most positive move for the Lakers in the past five or six years. It is really a surprise that people are upset about LeBron. I don’t understand it. [The message of the mural was to] just show LeBron paying homage to not only past Lakers legends but the whole organization. Him showing up to the Lakers and knowing he has some big shoes to fill.””
Zermeno was thrilled to see Lakers fans stop by and help him Saturday. “It is one of those things that we come together,” he said. “Lakers fans all together. We are not going to let the haters win.”
July 21, 2018 | 8:35 pm EDT Update
League sources told cleveland.com that the Cavs have spoken with Bulls free agent David Nwaba. Nwaba has interest in the Cavs, one of the sources said.
