The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The deal happened just hours ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern, and hours after Thomas told reporters he was “tired of being traded” and wanted to stay in Cleveland.
Thomas and fellow point guard Kyrie Irving switched teams last offseason when Cleveland sent Irving to the Boston Celtics in a blockbuster trade.
The Cavaliers are 31-22, coming off a win Wednesday night over the Minnesota Timberwolves thanks to a thrilling overtime buzzer-beater by LeBron James. Cleveland is in third place in the Eastern Conference, behind Boston and Toronto and a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards, but the team has gone through a tumultuous season with some blowout losses uncharacteristic of a James-led team.
The first-round pick in the deal is protected, but it’s unclear what the terms of that protection are (i.e. how low in the order it would have to be for Los Angeles to claim it).
Thomas played in just 15 games for the Cavaliers, averaging 14.7 points and 4.5 assists per game. The Lakers will be his fifth NBA team since entering the league in 2011. Los Angeles is 22-31 and six games out of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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