Isaiah Thomas may have been shocked that the Cavaliers traded him, but he understands why.
They were in “panic mode.”
Thomas, who was traded to the Lakers on Feb. 8 as part of the Cavs’ flurry of trade deadline moves, told ESPN’s E:60 that he thought he would get more of a chance to prove his worth with the Cavs.
“I didn’t think they would pull the trigger that fast, 15 games,” he said in the interview, scheduled to air March 11. “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, they basically cleared house.”
Thomas was traded to the Cavs in August but was sidelined with a hip injury he sustained in the 2017 playoffs with the Celtics and was unable to play until Jan. 2.
He averaged 14.7 points per game in 15 games with the Cavs, a far cry from the 28.9 points per game with Boston last season.
The Cavs went 7-8 with Thomas in the lineup but were still underachieving at 31-22 and third place in the Eastern Conference, so they decided to send him to Los Angeles for Larry Nance Jr.
“It was a tough situation I was being put in,” he said. “It was different. … It’s hard to get acclimated with a team halfway through the season.”
The Cavs are 4-1 since trading Thomas, but the point guard has moved on and does not hold anything against Cleveland.
“It just didn’t work out,” he said. “That just happens.”
Thomas is optimistic about being with the Lakers, though, and believes it is a similar situation from when the Suns traded him to the Celtics in 2015.
“A team right outside the playoffs, a team that was young, didn’t really know how to win and I just brought a different swagger to that organization and we took it and ran with it,” he said. “I’m coming to an LA team that’s young, that already has a system. And I just want to help. Hopefully I’m here long term… if I’m not, these last 25 games I’m going to play my heart out and show the Lakers why I should be here long term.”