Lakers News: Free Agent All-Star Ex-LA Vet Seeking New Deal

This savvy vet is on the hunt for a new home. Could he fit in L.A.?

Mar 14, 2018; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles after a play by guard Isaiah Thomas (3) against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

5-foot-9 former two-time All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas has never been the same since incurring a major hip injury during the 2017 playoffs, when he was putting the finishing touches on an All-NBA Second Team season with the Eastern Conference's No. 1-seeded Boston Celtics.

Since then, he's become a bit of an NBA nomad. He's enjoyed multiple stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, first in 2017-18 and then again, briefly, on a hardship exception deal in 2021-22.

During an ESPN broadcast live from Summer League in Las Vegas, Thomas spoke with Cassidy Hubbarth about his interest in finding a new NBA home. Most recently, he was a deep-bench reserve for the Phoenix Suns at the end of the 2023-24 season, averaging 1.3 points in just 3.2 minutes of action. It's a far cry from even his first Lakers run, when he averaged 15.6 points on a .383/.327/.921 slash line, 5.0 assists and 2.1 rebounds.

“I’m a free agent right now. (I’m) talking to a few teams trying to see what the best opportunity is down the line,” the 35-year-old said. “I want to play a year or two more. Just staying on the slow grind. Staying patiently ready. Knowing that I can impact an organization whether I play or not, and be super impactful each and every day. So I’m just waiting for the call.”

Thomas has also been a teammate to LeBron James twice, now. Once as the centerpiece of a trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics and Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2018, and again during the aforementioned 2021-22 window. He's lost some of his top-level athleticism, but as a 15th man he probably offers up enough scoring punch and persistent motor to be a good opponent in scrimmages.

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