Dwyane Wade says that everyone is happy now that the trade deadline has passed for the Cleveland Cavaliers. For Wade, that meant he had to head back to Miami. For Isaiah Thomas, it was a trade to Los Angeles and a fresh start with the Lakers.
Thomas says he’s got his “joy back” now that he’s in LA and getting another chance, and now that everyone has moved on we’re learning more about the situation in Cleveland that everyone left behind.
And according to FS1’s Chris Broussard, it was a difficult relationship between LeBron James and Thomas that sparked much of the concern for the Cavs. He spoke to Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless on Undisputed on Wednesday and said he’s heard the relationship between the two was strained.
https://twitter.com/undisputed/status/963453981673443330
“I was talking to somebody yesterday close to Isaiah, and they said, ‘Isaiah Thomas has absolutely no love at all for LeBron,” Broussard said. “This is real. He felt like LeBron talked down to him when he was there.”
Broussard pointed out that things weren’t so cold when IT first got to town, either.
“When Isaiah first got there, they actually were hanging out a little bit and it was cool,” he said. “But it soured pretty quickly, so this is real.”
But if you believe the report and want to start looking, there are definitely some exterior signs that things were a bit awkward in Cleveland.
It’s a little thing, but it’s clear they were not exactly running to one another when good moments happened. Here’s LeBron after his game-winner before the deadline, seeking out pretty much anyone but Thomas to celebrate with.
This is too funny. Watch Isaiah Thomas try to celebrate with LeBron. pic.twitter.com/MqLu5xm6VI
— David Astramskas (@redapples) February 8, 2018
Then there’s his body language before the celebration. Watch the bottom left of the screen while James works in isolation.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/961446091886616577
It’s not like we needed any more proof that things were off in Cleveland: that’s why the moves went down and everyone says they’re so happy now. Hopefully, for everyone involved, that happiness actually lasts this time.
