NBA Daily: What’s Next for Isaiah Thomas?

“That Slow Grind” seems to have ground to a halt.

Always a fighter, the former “Mr. Irrelevant” battled through stints with the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns before he ended up in the ideal situation with the Boston Celtics. As he came into his own, the diminutive Isaiah Thomas positioned himself for an enormous payday. But it never came.

In the midst of a, to say the least, gutsy 2017 postseason performance, Thomas aggravated a hip injury that ended his season and has continued to affect him to this day.

The Celtics traded Thomas that summer to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving (as part of a larger trade). Unable to carve out a consistent role, Thomas was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. There, he flashed that burst that enabled one of the most prolific offensive seasons in NBA history, but his season ended as it started; Thomas again found himself under the knife, forced to undergo surgery on his deteriorating hip.

Things still haven’t gotten better for him. With the Denver Nuggets, Thomas’ has hit the latest roadblock in what has been an uphill battle back to relevancy.

On February 13, 2019, Thomas debuted for the Nuggets to a standing ovation. From there, it took just nine games for Head Coach Mike Malone to remove him from the rotation. Now, the once great Thomas has been relegated to that of a veteran locker room presence and source of postseason experience. To his credit, Thomas has taken the change in stride, but his future NBA prospects continue to darken.

There are a number of different routes Thomas’ career could take out of Denver this offseason, but what exactly could be next for “The Little Guy?”

As he has become accustomed to, Thomas must persevere in order to continue his NBA dream and he’ll arguably have to do it somewhere other than Denver; the two just aren’t compatible. Thomas, at his best, dominated the ball while Denver, led by Malone and Nikola Jokic, run an offense based on fluidity and movement. If Thomas’ eventual goal is a return to form, or something close to it, he must find a team with an abundance of available guard minutes and one that can take the time to allow Thomas to find his footing again, a team desperate for the scoring punch that Thomas could provide once his feet are under him.

Multiple teams seem to fit that description, including the Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic and others that lack an effective weapon off the bench.

Thomas could also, as it were, steer into the skid. His career would take a form far different than what he had always envisioned, but it may be the best and most meaningful way for Thomas to remain connected to the NBA. Were he to come to the conclusion that he may not be able to get back to the player he used to be, Thomas could embrace the role that he has found for himself and look to continue in it in the future, either in Denver or elsewhere. The wealth of experience Thomas could provide a team — both from a personal and NBA perspective — could prove invaluable to a young team faced with hardship, mounting expectations or a number of other potential problems.

Likewise, Thomas’ veteran presence and knowledge of the postseason could provide an edge to almost any contender — anything Thomas contributed outside of the locker room would be a bonus.

Thomas could also forgo both of those options and look to rebuild his value in Europe or China before coming back to the NBA as well. Assuming he can maintain his health, Thomas would almost certainly flourish overseas, as many NBA players do, and parlay that into a potential NBA contract.

Thomas, never one to back away from a challenge, would almost certainly look for an NBA opportunity before making a decision that could drastically alter his future. Since he was drafted, the 5’9 point guard has been told that he couldn’t make it in the NBA and, while the circumstances have changed, it would seem out of character for Thomas to just give in to the doubters.

Whatever he does in the end, expect basketball to be in Thomas’ future, in some way, shape or form. Through it all, his passion for the game has never wavered and, while some may see this as the beginning of the end, it would seem foolish to doubt Thomas now.

He certainly won’t be doubting himself.