Cleveland Cavaliers: Isaiah Thomas will gain respect this season

The Cleveland Cavaliers completed the Kyrie Irving trade by obtaining Boston’s second round pick in 2020 on Aug. 30th.

This means that Isaiah Thomas will be coming to Cleveland to play for the renown Cavaliers. Thomas earned his way to being a star player. He was the last pick in the 2011 draft which is the same draft that Kyrie Irving went number one overall in. Thomas told The Undefeated how he felt about being drafted by the Sacramento Kings.

"“I was happy because I always told myself that all I ever wanted was a chance,” Thomas said. “No matter if I was drafted first or last, I just wanted to get drafted because I knew if I got the opportunity, I would take advantage of it no matter what.”"

Thomas has taken full advantage of the opportunity. He has made the All Star team two times. Thomas wasn’t even able to play in the summer league because of a lockout the year he was drafted but he has come a long way from that. Thomas knew that Sacramento didn’t want him and he was an underdog there.

"“They didn’t want me,” he said.” It was obvious. Anything I did, no matter how I played, it was always something. ‘He shoots too much. He is too much of a scoring point guard. He’s too small. He’s a defensive liability.’ It was always something … I knew Sacramento didn’t want me. I just knew.“There were people writing articles saying this and that. It was obvious that they wanted the upgrade because every year they brought somebody in. They drafted Jimmer before me, so they had to give him a chance. My second year, they brought in Aaron Brooks. My third year, they brought in Greivis Vasquez. I always had to take a seat back, but at the end of the [season], I was starting once I won that battle. Every year. When I was a free agent, they ended up signing Darren Collison first. That was a sign right there that I had to go somewhere else.”"

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Thomas is little in stature (5’9) but when he got his chance to put up numbers he has been big. In fact, Thomas was almost a 50-40-90 player last year. Thomas was 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 90 percent from the free throw line. In order from him to accomplish this feat, he would have had to of been 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the charity strike.

The Cavaliers are getting a smaller player but they are getting somebody that can put points up from all levels of the court. Comparing Kyrie Irving’s numbers with Thomas’ numbers would be the most common sense thing to do but there is one fact missing. Isaiah Thomas was the best player on the Boston Celtics and Irving was the second option in Cleveland. That means that Thomas was a one man show and those numbers were necessary.

Thomas will get his chance to play with LeBron James and that will work to his benefit. When you play with LeBron your play has been known to elevate. Thomas will embrace this spotlight and shine night in and night out. Thomas is efficient in the fourth quarter he will give the Cavs the boost they need at times when the game is closing. That is Thomas’ greatest asset to the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers will be looking to make their fourth straight appearance in the finals which is the biggest stage in the NBA. Thomas’ career will go to the next level if he can help the Cavaliers claim their second title in three years that will help his case for the respect that he feels he deserves. After everything he did for Boston the fans burned his jersey. After getting his tooth knocked out for the team while playing defense. After playing the day after his sister’s death. After he did not willingly leave but was traded away by the organization. That has to add to the motivation that is already driving him. Look for Thomas to be looking to go out this season and try and prove the haters wrong again.

Isaiah Thomas’ hip injury was what held up the deal. Thomas has said that he is fine and the Cavaliers couldn’t pass up getting the Brooklyn Nets first round pick so the deal got done. This is just another thing that has led to people doubting Thomas, but with his reputation, he should be fine.

LeBron James has Thomas’ back that is for sure. He tweeted out how he felt about how he felt the Celtics fans were wrong in treating Thomas. This could help with the chemistry that the Cavaliers need to go into the long grueling season. The Cavaliers have a lot of new faces on their team with players like Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, Ante Zicic, Jae Crowder, and Isaiah Thomas filling out the starting point guard role.

Must Read: Grading the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade

That means anything that will bring the team together is crucial for the team’s success.