The Los Angeles Lakers have filled out most of the roster and we are at the point in the offseason where the team is going to explore its final roster options. This will likely include the team signing a locker room veteran (such as Jared Dudley) but it could also include a young player to develop or a sharpshooter to help the rotation.
It would not be all that surprising to see the Lakers also leave one open roster spot for a future 10-day contract or buyout signing. It is smart to go into the season with 14 players instead of 15. The Lakers are currently at 12.
There has been a bit of a trend this offseason as Rob Pelinka has brought back four players who were formerly on the Lakers. Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore are all former Lakers.
We have explored some of the former Lakers on the market but one name that has not come up much is Isaiah Thomas — who is in the news right now as he dropped an 81-point game, Kobe Bryant style…
… except for the fact that Kobe Bryant did it in an actual NBA game and Thomas did it in the Crawsover Pro-Am. Still, Thomas can seemingly still ball, is only 32 and is a former MVP candidate. We have to raise the question.
Should the Los Angeles Lakers take a flier on Isaiah Thomas.
Short answer: no. Let’s break down why.
Typically I am all for fliers on players. In theory, these signings have little to no risk with a high upside that could help the team. If it works out then the team gets something unexpected. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t really matter anyway.
While that is true of this situation, there are also other options for the Lakers to take a flier on. I would much rather see the team sign someone like JJ Redick or even take a chance on someone young, such as Frank Ntilikina. Those might not be the best options, but they are better than Thomas.
Sure, on paper you might be able to convince yourself that there is an upside with Thomas but that upside really is not there. Cool, he dropped 81 points. He did it against guys that should have been hooping at their local 24-Hour Fitness. I would hope that he has a game like that against that competition.
Thomas simply is not that good anymore. His MVP-caliber season is going to be one of the most interesting in NBA history as his career declined so rapidly after being traded by the Boston Celtics. His size is obviously a hurdle and once he got hurt he lost that athleticism that made him so good at his peak.
Thomas played three games last season. Three. He scored 23 combined points in 48 minutes. The year prior he did average 12.2 points across 40 games but it was for a terrible Washington Wizards team and did not really mean anything.
Not only is he not that great anymore but there was some tension between Thomas and LeBron James following the trade that sent Thomas to the Lakers and ironically opened up enough cap space for the Lakers to sign LeBron that following offseason.
They did not seem like a great pairing at the time and it was clear afterward that LeBron was not a huge fan of his. Even if Thomas could bury the hatchet, LeBron will get the final say and that say is likely no.