Isaiah Thomas is one of the NBA’s more fascinating players. A perpetual underdog ever since he entered the league as the 60th pick in the 2011 draft, the former Washington standout bounced around the league before finally landing with the Boston Celtics in 2015.
In 2016-17, Thomas went on an MVP-like campaign and quietly emerged as Boston’s leader en route to a very memorable season. He ultimately averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Sadly, he ended up suffering a hip injury that year which he opted to play through for the betterment of the Celtics, and he hasn’t been the same player since.
So far this offseason multiple videos have emerged of Thomas balling out, and it legitimately looks as though he may have quietly regained his old form.
“That only gave me more confidence to be able to play the game again,” he said of his recent 5-on-5 success in an interview with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.
Fans noticed something interesting about Doris Burke in #NBA2K21 https://t.co/5q58jCibFN
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 23, 2020
“I mean, I was blowing by people. I haven’t blown by anybody since I had a Celtics uniform on. When I was able to blow by MVP-caliber players, that told me my burst and power and speed are there. I really feel like I’m back.”
Assuming Thomas really is back, what sort of market is out there for him right now? At the moment, it looks like four teams could be legitimate suitors for his services.
Recently, Thomas suggested on social media that he would love to reunite with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thomas played for the Lakers in 2017-18, averaging 15.6 points and 5.0 assists per outing. He could slide in fairly easily on the bench if he’s willing to take the veteran’s minimum, and he could provide some nice offensive firepower with the second unit.
If not the Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers could also make a lot of sense. Thomas has also expressed interest in them on social media.
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) November 27, 2020
Heading into the offseason, Kawhi Leonard made it clear to the front office that he wanted to see the team pick up an offense-first point guard. They made a strong push to sign Rajon Rondo away from the Lakers, but he ultimately went with the Atlanta Hawks instead.
Thomas could provide a strong scoring boost for the Clippers off the bench at the guard spot, particularly if the team moves forward and trades away Lou Williams the way many around the league expect them to. Mind you, last year he averaged 12.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, while shooting a career-best 41.3-percent from beyond the arc for the Washington Wizards.
Paulina Gretzky has taken Masters victory celebrations to a new level. https://t.co/K1yliTiGao
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 22, 2020
The Miami Heat are another possible destination. Thomas expressed interest in signing with the defending Eastern Conference champs in a recent tweet.
Miami probably has less of a need for Thomas than some of the other teams mentioned, and his defensive liabilities really contradict a lot of the Heat’s principles, but he remains an option.
I rock ALL nba shorts in the off season. But if they wit it then I’m wit it lol https://t.co/JkZmB7YFth
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) November 25, 2020
Finally, don’t sleep on the Boston Celtics. Fans have been absolutely clamoring for the organization to re-sign Thomas, and it’s not like he’s really any worse of a player at this point than Carsen Edwards.
The Celtics could have 10 point guards and I’d still want Danny to sign Isaiah Thomas. 🤷♂️☘️
— ☘️ 𝘽𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙉 𝘾𝙀𝙇𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙎 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ☘️ (@BosCelticsNews_) November 23, 2020
Please @danielrainge we need to make up for the Hayward loss!
— ☘ Corey C. ☘ (@Corky831) November 23, 2020
One way or another, Thomas will be playing somewhere next season.
Where will that somewhere be? Time will tell.
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