Isaiah Thomas’ tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers has not exactly gone how either side expected it to, with the reeling Cavs struggling mightily this month upon IT’s return.
The Cavs gave up one of the best players in the NBA in Kyrie Irving as part of the trade with the Boston Celtics that sent Thomas to Ohio, but Cleveland’s return instead has been a player who has been modest offensively and a liability on defense.
For Fox Sports 1 NBA analyst Chris Broussard, that’s exactly what the Cavs should have expected.
Broussard believes it was Brad Stevens’ system in Boston that made a star out of Thomas, but that’s not truly the player he is, and he went into detail on that Wednesday during an appearance on FS1’s “Undisputed.”
Take a listen:
"We forgot who Isaiah Thomas was. He was Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford. In that system in Boston, credit to Brad Stevens… he became a star for a couple of years, but that's really not who he was." — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/KA18SmOXNf
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) January 24, 2018
Interesting.
Thomas’ 15.9 points per game through eight games this season is far below his averages with the Celtics. But to be fair, he is coming off of a hip injury and getting acclimated to a new system, so it may take some time to truly get the scope of the Cavs’ return in the blockbuster trade.