Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

James’ dismay

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Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James was reportedly not a proponent of the offseason trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas and other pieces.

According to ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst, James was skeptical of the deal because of Thomas’ hip injury, and he felt the Cavs should’ve used leverage for even greater compensati­on after they knew the severity of Thomas’ ailment.

Cleveland ended up getting a 2020 second-round draft pick in addition to Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round selection.

Perhaps James’ concern was born from his knowledge of Jonny Flynn, who has the same agent as the four-time NBA MVP.

The Minnesota Timberwolv­es selected Flynn at No. 6 overall in the 2009 draft after his standout collegiate career at Syracuse, but hip issues limited him to just three NBA campaigns.

Thomas missed a large chunk of the 2017-18 season, and upon returning in January, he struggled to regain his All-Star form.

In 15 games, Thomas averaged just 14.7 points and 4.5 assists, and he shot a disappoint­ing 36.1 percent from the field.

On the Feb. 8 trade deadline, Cleveland dealt Thomas to the Los Angeles Lakers along with Channing Frye and a first-round pick for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr.

Thomas has experience­d a slight uptick in play with the Lakers, as he is averaging 15.5 points and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 39.2 percent over 11 contests.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are 7-5 since shaking up their roster. They are third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 38-27.

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