Los Angeles Lakers: How to integrate Isaiah Thomas into the lineup
Lonzo and Isaiah Situation
One thing that was talked about once the trade went down was if Isaiah and Lonzo could play together. They are both point guards capable of starting in the NBA, with Lonzo being drafted with the number 2 overall pick and Isaiah averaging 28.9 PPG last year.
Rob Pelinka immediately squashed any rumors of Isaiah being bought out after the trade because of the possible confliction with Lonzo’s role.
"“They can play together. Lonzo’s 6-7, long arms. One of the elite point guard defenders in the league. He can guard 1s, 2s, 3s. I think there’s gonna be points in the game where they have heavy minutes together. Isaiah’s probably more of a natural scorer. What, he was second in the league in scoring last year? That’s his bread and butter to score. Those guys can play together. Anyone that’s painting it as an either-or doesn’t really understand the game.”"
Those are definitely encouraging words, but of course, he’s going to speak positively about them playing together. Sadly, we might have to wait to see how the two actually work together until after the All-Star break.
Luke Walton has said before that Lonzo will need to go through a full practice before he gets back into a game. He took a step in Monday’s practice, going through non-contact drills. He would need to go through a full practice tomorrow before the Lakers’ back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday to play. After that, it’s the All-Star break and we would have to wait and see IT and Lonzo play together.
Isaiah isn’t stirring the pot at least.
Isaiah Thomas on Lonzo Ball: "We're both basketball players. We know how to play with different types of guys. He's a special young talent. He's going to be a special player in this league for years to come.” #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) February 12, 2018
Isaiah Thomas on Lonzo Ball: "Even from the outside looking in, watching the Lakers play, he's very good & he goes at his own pace which is strength to have at a young age & he's talented.” #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) February 12, 2018
That’s very kind words coming from a point guard who was 5th in MVP voting last year.
Next: Were the Lakers winners at the trade deadline?
No matter how much IT may like Lonzo’s play, it’ll be interesting to see how often they are on the court together. As two of the roster’s most valued pieces, it’d be surprising not to see them on the court at the same time late in games. Whether or not that produces a good end game result, is still to be seen. Between Lonzo, the defensive schemes, and coming off the bench, Luke Walton has a lot to work on regarding Isaiah.