Former Laker Auditioning For Multiple Clubs In Hopes Of NBA Comeback

Would your Los Angeles Lakers ever consider bringing former All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas in for a third non-consecutive stint with the franchise?

Probably not, especially given that team president Rob Pelinka just explicitly stated earlier today that LA was specifically in the hunt for a new reserve big man, but a guy can wonder.

Per former three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford (a weird source for breaking news, but welcome to 2023), "multiple" NBA franchises are set to scout Thomas on Monday as the one-time top-five league MVP candidate looks to make yet another NBA comeback.

Crawford, who like Thomas is a Seattle native, didn't reveal which specific clubs would attend Thomas' workout. 

The 34-year-old Thomas has had a rough go of it since emerging as a two-time All-Star and a one-time All-NBA Second Teamer while with the Boston Celtics from 2015-17. Always a defensive liability as an undersized, score-first point guard (he's listed at 5'9", but could be shorter), a 2017 hip ailment that eventually required surgery sapped him of his athletic explosiveness, and turned him from a top-five MVP candidate in 2017 into a journeyman bench cog.

It was this diminished iteration of the Washington University product that arrived on the Lakers in two separate tours of duty. He first latched on with a lottery-bound Los Angeles in 2018, as part of a trade to equip then-Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star small forward LeBron James with more versatile depth, en route to their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance. He quickly became a fan favorite during a futile year (James would sign with Los Angeles as a free agent that summer), averaging 15.6 points on an inefficient .383/.327/.921 slash line, along with 5.0 assists and 2.1 rebounds a night.

Thomas later rejoined his ex-Cavs teammate James on a single ten-day contract with the Lakers midway through another lottery-bound LA season, 2021-22. He was significantly less impactful during that four-game stint, averaging just 9.3 points on .308/.227/.727 shooting splits, along with 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 dimes off the bench.

Although his peak years, enjoyed with the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and Celtics, are clearly in the rear view, Thomas has shown as recently as the spring of 2022 while with the Charlotte Hornets that he can function as a fun energy-shifter off the bench of a lottery club. He may yet have some level of NBA contract in his future, but he may need to start looking internationally if he wants to return to his glory days level of touches.

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