When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Cleveland Cavaliers at this year’s NBA trade deadline, it presented him with an opportunity to play for his childhood team. On the flip side, it was yet another change of scenery for the former MVP candidate.
He suffered a hip injury while attempting to lead the Boston Celtics through the 2017 NBA Playoffs, and didn’t play after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas’ fate then fell into the hands of Kyrie Irving when he requested a trade from the Cavs.
Thomas was packaged to Cleveland but didn’t debut until January because of a prolonged rehab, and he only appeared in 15 games before the trade with the Lakers. At the time of the deal there were rumblings of Thomas not meshing well with LeBron James and others in the locker room.
While Thomas has maintained a positive opinion of his former teammates, they were the brunt of a joke during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
In a competition against Isiah Thomas over which player was more knowledgeable across generations. The younger Thomas was getting blown out when he joked about his result mirroring that of the Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals:
.@IsaiahThomas VS. @IsiahThomas in an @NBA edition of #GenerationGap! pic.twitter.com/Yu2944jBnc
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) June 5, 2018
Thomas previously mentioned the Cavaliers in a joke when they wore matching Thom Browne suits to their Game 3 matchup with the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
As for his recovery from hip surgery, Thomas no longer is dealing with pain, which has him optimistic for the future. He’s closing in on resuming all basketball activity, which could be key for Thomas’ free agency.
Although the Lakers intend to pursue max-level free agents, namely James and Paul George, they reportedly won’t rule out re-signing Thomas to a one-year contract.
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