Getty Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas.
The Los Angeles Lakers have had to bring in a number of new faces recently due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols but not many of those players will have a chance to stick around for long. One of the first players brought on was veteran guard Isaiah Thomas. The two-time All-Star was with the team in 2018 and has had trouble earning a consistent spot on an NBA roster.
He played in four games with the Lakers and averaged 9.3 points a game. The team lost all four games. Thomas is obviously not to blame for the team’s struggles but they decided not to renew his contract past the original 10-day deal they agreed on. The decision didn’t come as much of a surprise considering the Lakers have a full roster and Thomas didn’t do enough to warrant them cutting a player to sign him.
The guard is headed back to free agency but is keeping his head held high. He simply said that he was “thankful for the opportunity.”
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Will Thomas Land on Another Roster?
It’s been a tough road for Thomas. He went from being an MVP candidate and All-Star to NBA journeyman seemingly overnight due to an injury. He’s had plenty of chances to earn a long-term spot but it just hasn’t happened.
Some of it is due to his play. He’s a liability on defense due to his size and has only hit 36.2% of his 3-point attempts. Outside of his run from 2015 to 2017, he’s only averaged more than 20 points a game one other time in his career. With the recent Lakers stint flaming out, Thomas may not land on another NBA roster immediately. However, the league continues to have issues with health and safety protocols. More players having to sit out could open up the door for Thomas to land on another roster.
Lakers in the Midst of Brutal Losing Streak
The Lakers are playing their worst basketball of the year right now. They’ve lost five in a row and are getting outclassed most nights. Though they’ve had a lot of missing players recently, so have many of their opponents. The team still has LeBron James and Russell Westbrook healthy so there’s no excuse to lose five in a row. Head coach Frank Vogel has been out due to the health and safety protocols so David Fizdale has been leading the team. There’s only so much he can do right now but he’s not happy with how the team has been playing.
“When you lose five in a row, it’s misery,” Fizdale said after practice Monday, via ESPN. “You’re not happy. But there’s two types of ways you can respond to this. Right? And that’s the only thing we can control, is our response to a five-game losing streak. We can either bitch, moan, complain, point fingers, deflect, or we can get in the gym and work together and get in the film sessions and have raw conversations and talk about what we need to do to get better and improve.”
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Isaiah Thomas Shares Strong Reaction to Not Getting New Lakers Contract