Isaiah Thomas has now played in 14 games as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, one shy of the number of appearances he made in Cleveland, and he’s looked a bit more like the Thomas of old.
Thomas is averaging 16.7 points and 5.5 assists per game, while seeing his shooting splits improve to 39.6/35.6/94.3. Those aren’t incredible percentages by any stretch, but they’re a vast improvement over what he was doing in Cleveland and give some hope that he can get back to being the kind of player that was an All-Star in Boston.
Whether he ever gets back to that kind of production again remains to be seen, but he insists he can still be that player. Thomas got his first start as a Laker on Wednesday against Golden State in a loss to the Warriors, and while he’s begrudgingly come off of the bench in L.A. he is defiant about that being the role he should take on long term.
Thomas will be a free agent this summer and while he might have to set his sights for a new contract a bit lower than his request to have Boston “back up the Brinks truck,” as he told USA Today’s Sam Amick, he’s going to be looking for a starting role wherever he signs.
“I’m not no sixth man,” he declared in an interview with USA TODAY Sports this week. “And I won’t be a sixth man (in the future). I just want everybody to know that, like clear as can be. I’m a two-time All-Star and a starter who has done things that a lot of people in this league haven’t done (when) given that opportunity.”
Thomas said he was traded to the Lakers and couldn’t control his role there, which is why despite there being reports he wouldn’t accept a bench role after being dealt to L.A. he’s been willing to make his first 13 appearances with the bench unit. No one should be surprised by Thomas’ confidence in his skills, but it will be fascinating to watch how long he holds out this summer for such an opportunity and what the market for him even looks like.
There are very few teams with significant cap space this summer, and many of them, like the Lakers, already have young point guards in starting roles and likely wouldn’t be willing to accommodate his demands for a starting role or for the money he wants. Thomas’ performance in L.A. has boosted his stock for sure, but his production with the Lakers still is well off what he was last year in Boston in what felt very much like a phenomenal outlier year for a good player.
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