LeBron James was disappointed in the Cleveland Cavaliers front office after the Kyrie Irving – Isaiah Thomas trade.
Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst, LeBron James was disappointed in the Cleveland Cavaliers return from the pivotal offseason trade that resulted in Kyrie Irving being shipped off to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, a 2018 first-round draft pick (via the Brooklyn Nets) and a 2020 second-round draft pick (via the Miami Heat).
"It’s well known that James preferred the Cavs not trade Irving, but there was more. Sources close to James, a master of applying leverage, said he was less than impressed by how the Cavs handled reworking the Irving deal once the severity of Thomas’ injury became clear.Had the Cavs backed out, which they considered doing for several days, the Celtics would have been in a tough position. They had already celebrated Irving’s arrival and would have alienated Thomas and Jae Crowder. Adding to the Cavs’ leverage was the nature of Thomas’ hip injury becoming public, thereby further diminishing his trade value and putting Boston in an even tighter spot if the deal fell through.When the dust settled, the fact that Cleveland got only a second-round pick after pausing the deal — and not an additional first-rounder or young player such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown or Terry Rozier — didn’t just disappoint James as a basketball player. It disappointed him as a businessman."
This account of how the Irving trade went down sheds light on why James seemed to lack faith in the front office. With all of the leverage the Cavs had, to only get a future second-round pick out of the deal was laughable.
It showed with the Cavaliers trade deadline deals, as every trade acquisition except Zizic and the Nets’ first-round pick.
James’ feelings about the trade also gives the reader a sense that Thomas (and Crowder) would have had to really impress James for the trade to appease him.
For the most part, Thomas was anything but impressive. He was a downright liability and making headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
His play was lackluster. His attitude was grating on players, coaches and trainers. For all the appreciation that fans had for his determination to overcome adversity and excel in disadvantageous situations, there was also a limit on how long the organization could wait for Thomas to “fit in”.
The rust and inefficient shooting nights were expected. Thomas’ lack of conditioning was expected. After all, Thomas was out for seven months.
The issue was Thomas’ alpha dog mentality leading him to take a volume of shots that resulted in him averaging more field goal attempts per 36 minutes (18.5) than any player not named James. An issue exacerbated by his terrible perimeter defense and the negative effect he had on Kevin Love’s play and opportunities.
In Love’s last 10 games (all played with Thomas), he averaged 8.0 field goal attempts per game. He averages 12.5 field goal attempts per game for the season.
Unfortunately, on the outside looking in, it was abundantly clear the team needed to trade Thomas.
The on-court product could have improved with time and an acquisition like DeAndre Jordan, a big man that could clean up the team’s defensive mistakes on the perimeter and was available in trade talks. The atmosphere in the locker room would not have changed without a great many wins between the All-Star Break and playoffs.
It remains to be seen how far this version Cavs can go but if James leaves in the summer, it would be an offseason that was a year in the making.
Related Story: LeBron's chances of signing with Lakers are slim
*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com