Do You Speak Emoji?

CELTICS GUARD Isaiah Thomas sent the NBA Twittersphere into a frenzy when he tweeted the eyes emoji on Feb. 20, three days before the trade deadline. The last time Thomas shared that icon was right before Boston signed free-agent center Al Horford, so his post set off speculation that the Celtics were about to make a move. (They didn't.) This came only 19 months after the Mavs and the Clippers engaged in a free-agent battle over center DeAndre Jordan that played out through an extended exchange of emojis. Considering the trend, SI devised an emoji meter so fans will know how to react to the next cryptic tweet.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

SOMETHING DOWN THE ROAD

DEAL IN THE WORKS

DEAL IS HAPPENING ... SOON

IMMINENT TRADE/SIGNING

LOW

1. Enjoying the off-season. Pour me a drink with an umbrella.

2. Busting it at the gym. Make that a kale milkshake.

GUARDED

3. If several players tweet at once, they're living it up in the tropics.

4. A locker-room cancer must be dealt with.

ELEVATED

5. Be on the lookout. A trade is lurking around the bend.

6. Pieces are moving, though maybe not at high speed.

HIGH

7. Something is in the works, and someone's not happy about it.

8. A player's about to take off; start the countdown.

SEVERE

9. It's a bombshell. Man the stations and prepare for impact.

10. An interested party is about to get paid.

THEY SAID IT

"I'M IN LOVE WITH BOXING, BUT I DON'T WANT TO DO IT LONG."

Deontay Wilder

The WBC heavyweight champion after his fifth-round knockout of Gerald Washington on Feb. 25.

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE

The USF basketball team left two of its top three scorers sleeping at the Houston airport when no one noticed they hadn't boarded the team's flight home.