Getty NBA free agent Isaiah Thomas.
It’s been a tough road for Isaiah Thomas. He was once an All-Star and an MVP candidate but injuries derailed a once-promising career. He’s bounced around the NBA in recent years but is now having a hard time getting a team to sign him.
He spent a brief time with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2017-2018 season but only lasted 17 games before the team moved on. He worked out with the team this offseason and they did have rumored interest. However, Los Angeles has yet to make any kind of offer and it doesn’t appear that they will.
With Thomas having a hard time landing on an NBA team, rumors started to spread that he could be headed to Europe. NBA insider Keith Smith reported on Wednesday that there was “buzz” surrounding the possibility of Thomas signing with a Russian team. The veteran guard quickly responded and made it clear that he’s not playing overseas, which prompted Smith to delete the tweet.
No sir not me!!! I will not be going overseas. Wrong isaiah
Smith then took to Twitter to express that confusion is what caused him to suggest that Thomas headed to Russia.
Deleted the tweet about Isaiah Thomas possibly signing with CSKA. It’s not long-time NBA veteran and former Celtic Isaiah Thomas that is under consideration for CSKA (as confirmed by the man himself!) and it was causing confusion.
It appears that there was another player named Isaiah Thomas that is signing with CSKA but it’s not the one that everybody knows.
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Any Chance Lakers Sign Thomas?
Now that we know that Thomas isn’t going to Europe, he’s still available to NBA teams. Based on what he said on Twitter, it appears that he’s holding out hope that he’ll get signed by a team. There are plenty of teams who could use a guard with scoring ability. He’s averaged 18.1 points over his career but averaged less than 13 points a game in each of the last three seasons.
As previously noted, the Lakers were linked to Thomas earlier in the offseason. He’s played with LeBron James in the past and would fit in with the veteran roster the team has established. That said, any dreams he had of joining the team again were likely killed when they signed Rajon Rondo. The team now has three capable point guards in Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn and Rondo. We’ve also seen Darren Collison work out with the team and he’s likely to be a better fit with the Lakers than Thomas if they want to add another point guard.
Will Lakers Fill out Roster Before Season?
The Lakers added a ton of new players this offseason but still have some roster spots available. With Marc Gasol getting traded to the Memphis Grizzlies after the DeAndre Jordan signing. That leaves two guaranteed spots open on the roster. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers would like to keep one of those spots open for flexibility during the regular season.
With that in mind, the team should be looking for at least one more play to bring into training camp. Thomas or Collison could be interesting additions. It’s hard to tell what the team might do. They could also try to target more youth in an effort to get younger.
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FA Guard Linked to Lakers Responds to Rumor That He’s Signing Overseas