Yesterday I laid out an argument that Koby Altman was embroiled in internal damage control after people above him freaked out over the Isaiah Thomas physical.
Today I’m more convinced of that than before because the only other plausible scenario, that the Thomas physical provided some sort of surprise, doesn’t exist.
Appearing on The Vertical podcast with Chris Mannix, Bulpett said the Cavaliers weren’t surprised by Thomas’ medical situation.
“My read is actually from the Cleveland side, and what I hear from there is that nothing they’ve found is anything different than what was conveyed to the Cavaliers in the trade discussions, and certainly in the medical information that was passed forward,” Bulpett told Mannix.
Meanwhile, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon (as well as Bulpett on Mannix’s pod), the Cavaliers still haven’t actually asked the Celtics for more compensation.
So…
Let’s recap it all…
We have a trade involving an injured Isaiah Thomas. The Boston Celtics are obligated by league rules to reveal all relevant injury information prior to the trade call or face harsh league punishment. Cleveland agrees and conducts a physical that reveals nothing different from what they were told.
So what changed? I’ll just repeat myself…
which is more likely? A neophyte GM pulling an elaborate extortion plot? Or Dan Gilbert’s craziness… the same craziness that helped drive an NBA lockout, fire the GM who re-acquired LeBron James, create a situation where one of his star players requested a trade and the other is willing to leave his hometown for the SECOND time… is mucking up the completion of a mega-deal?’
Never forget that Dan Gilbert is not a good person or a good owner. If the Cavs veto a trade when there was no new information gained by the physical, then Altman’s gonna have a hell of a time building a winner after LeBron bolts.
I can’t say for sure who’s responsible for this delay, but all the reporting from all sides has been pretty clear: Boston gave Cleveland all their information, the Cavs accepted, found nothing new in the physical, and are still holding up the trade without having asked for any additional compensation. Someone in the Cavs front off ice is holding this up, and for no apparent reason.
The Cavs continue to look worse in this situation. They need to resolve this soon or they’re going to turn into the Sacramento Kings once LeBron leaves.
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