The Lakers traded away combo guard Jordan Clarkson, who averages 14.5 points per game, and power forward Larry Nance Jr., who shoots 60.1 percent from the field, to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Thomas, Channing Frye and a 2018 first-round pick.
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Thomas was traded to the Cavs in the summer in a blockbuster move that sent Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. Cavs general manager Koby Altman traded six players, including Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose, and two future draft picks in moves created to not only help them in the short term but could potentially help keep LeBron James beyond this season.
Isaiah Thomas is coming to the Los Angeles Lakers in an unexpected trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell ESPN.
The team traded a shocking amount of players but received quite a bit of talent back in the deals.
Thursday’s wild National Basketball Association trade deadline has had long-reaching ramifications, extending far beyond the pros. That’ll give them the flexibility they wanted to make a run at LeBron James if/when he opts out of his contract with the Cavs. The Lakers have the cap space to add two max free agents in the summer, and it doesn’t appear that Thomas is going to get one of those contracts.
Will LeBron James be wearing the Cleveland Cavaliers Jersey or will LeBron James be wearing a Los Angles Lakes Jersey next season? He could slide right into the minutes that are being left behind by Nance Jr. It wasn’t that long ago that he was averaging almost 29 points and six assists per game.
In his third season with the Kings, Thomas posted career highs with averages of 20.3 points, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals.
James finished with 37 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. He worked hard to rehab his way back to the court after a devastating hip injury kept him out for the first 36 games this season. They got longer and more athletic – Clarkson, Nance, Hill, and Hood are all long, lanky, athletic players who can switch across multiple positions.
Hood and Nance will help Cleveland defensively while Hill is a shot maker who will benefit by playing alongside James.
Taking to his Instagram page, Frye thanked Cavs fans and the city of Cleveland.
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Nance was a first-round draft pick by the Lakers in 2015, selected 27th overall. His father was a two-time All-Star for the Cavaliers. And if this move helps them weather the storm without Lonzo and make a late charge at a lower-tier playoff spot out West, all the better for a franchise and a fanbase that hasn’t so much as sniffed the postseason since 2013.
