Getty Isaiah Thomas #4 formerly of the Boston Celtics.
On September 17, Michael Scotto of Hoopshype reported that multiple players held workouts with the Los Angeles Lakers. Among the multiple players that worked out for them was former Boston Celtics two-time star Isaiah Thomas, who had two previous stints with the Lakers.
Shortly after Scotto reported this, Thomas himself took to Twitter to refute Scotto’s report directly, stating that said workout never happened.
Over the offseason, the Lakers added point guards Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder and still have other guards currently on the roster, such as Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, and Matt Reeves. Adding someone like Thomas doesn’t seem like a necessary move on their end.
Thomas has remained a free agent throughout the offseason, even as training camp is about to start, so what would be believable is that he would take any workout he can get to continue his career in the NBA. However, right from the horse’s mouth, the Lakers did not hold such a workout for him.
More details may follow after Thomas’ denial.
Thomas’ Stints With the Lakers
Thomas has played for the Lakers twice in his NBA career. Once during the 2017-18 season when he was acquired by the team at the trade deadline from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and once again during this past season on a 10-day contract.
During Thomas’ first stint with the Lakers, he averaged 15.6 points and five assists while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three in 17 games while playing 26.8 minutes a game. His season ended prematurely when he opted for arthroscopic surgery on his right hip on March 29.
Thomas then started his second stint with the Lakers when they brought him in on a 10-day contract during the 2021-22 season. It also marked the second time Thomas had played with LeBron James since they had played together in Cleveland during the 2017-18 season. In the four games he played for the Lakers, Thomas averaged 9.3 points, two rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 30.8 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three.
The Lakers opted not to keep Thomas once his 10-day contract had expired. Thomas then played one game for the Dallas Mavericks before landing on his feet with the Charlotte Hornets.
Thomas Said Danny Ainge Made Him Play in 2017’s Last Game
On September 15, the Twitter account StatMuse shouted Thomas for all that he accomplished during the 2016-17 season, which would be his final season with the Celtics.
Isaiah Thomas was insane in 2017:
— 28.9 PPG (3rd in NBA)
— 5.9 APG
— 46/38/91%
— All-Star
— All-NBA
— Top 5 in MVP voting
Only 5’9.
Thomas responded to the tweet, claiming that his scoring average would have been higher if he hadn’t played in the Celtics’ last game of the regular season. Thomas claims that then-President of Basketball of Operations Danny Ainge made him play.
According to NBA.com, Thomas’ scoring average was actually 29.1 points a game before their regular season finale, but his point is valid nonetheless that it would have been higher than his final statistical output had he not played in that game.
Although his scoring average went down a little, none of his shooting percentages were affected by playing in the team’s last game. Thomas placing fifth in MVP voting during the 2016-17 season was the highest a Celtic had ranked for MVP since Kevin Garnett placed third during the 2007-08 season. Jayson Tatum may be up next, though, since he ranked sixth in MVP voting for the 2021-22 season.