Isaiah Thomas believes the Cavaliers made a "panic move" in trading him to the Lakers after only 15 games in their lineup.

Thomas was traded in a deal for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. on Feb. 8 at the trade deadline.

"I didn't think they would pull the trigger that fast, 15 games," Thomas told ESPN's E:60 in an interview that will air March 11. "But again, it's a business. And the Cavs were, I mean, they were in panic mode. We were losing -- a lot. And I think they felt like they needed to make a move, and they, they basically cleared house."

The Cavs went 7-8 with Thomas.

"It was a tough situation I was being put in," Thomas said. "It was -- it was different. ... It's hard to get acclimated to a team halfway through the season.

"People don't put in there that we had eight or nine new players. So it was basically a brand new team. ... I'm in a new system. New team, new coach, new players. And then I've been off for seven months. So I got to get -- individually, I got to for the most part get my rhythm back, get my timing back."