Isaiah Thomas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Updates: Thomas, Ball, Irving, Curry

April 7th, 2018 at 9:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas is declaring his right hip to be “fixed” after season-ending surgery, relays Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Thomas played just 17 games for the Lakers before opting for the March 28 procedure to address lingering problems in the hip. He talked to reporters at Friday’s game and proclaimed his time with in L.A. to be successful.

“I came in here with … nothing on my agenda and nothing in my plans,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to play basketball and get that joy back and being on the Lakers brought that joy back from having a tough couple of months in Cleveland.”

Thomas added that the pain in his hip never went away, even as he sat out for seven months in an attempt to rehab the joint. He expressed confidence that the situation won’t affect his offers in free agency, believing that teams will understand he was trying to play through an injury.

There’s plenty of news tonight on the injury front:

The season may not be over for rookie guard Lonzo Ball, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Ball, who has missed the past five games with a left knee contusion, participated in some drills today and the Lakers have upgraded him to questionable for Sunday’s contest. Teammate Kyle Kuzma is also questionable after suffering a mild sprain to his left ankle Friday night.
The Celtics expect Kyrie Irving to be ready for training camp after having knee surgery today, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN. Irving had two screws removed from his left knee and has a projected recovery time of four to five months. “The surgery went exactly as planned, and we expect Kyrie to be fully healthy for training camp in the fall,” president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in a prepared statement.
Celtics center Daniel Theis, who had season-ending surgery on his left knee, said he hopes to be able to get off his crutches in two to three weeks, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.
Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele will have an MRI on his knee after sitting out practice today, according to Tom Westerholm of MassLive. “They don’t think it’s anything,” coach Brad Stevens said of team doctors, “but they’re going to get some imaging just to make sure.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr declined to offer an update on Stephen Curry before tonight’s game, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The star guard will miss at least the first round of the playoffs with an MCL sprain. “There’s nothing there,” Kerr said. “[Check back] next week.”
The Nuggets are preparing to finish the season without guard Gary Harris, who is recovering from a knee injury, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post (Twitter link). “Right now, I’m not expecting Gary Harris back [in the regular season],” coach Michael Malone said before today’s game. “We have to continue to find ways to win games and compete at a high level with the players that are available, and Gary’s not on that list right now.”
The Bucks had hoped that Malcolm Brogdon could play tonight, but decided to hold him out for another game, writes Matt Velazquez of The Journal Sentinel. Brogdon hasn’t been available since since partially tearing his left quadriceps tendon more than two months ago. “Honestly there hasn’t been many setbacks,” Brogdon said. “I’ve had maybe two or three sore days in the whole rehab process and that’s not many at all. Very few setbacks. I’ve made progress, progress, taken big steps almost every day so it’s been a very smooth rehab so far.”

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Hayes, Offseason, Gallinari

April 7th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by marksuleymanov

Isaiah Thomas has returned to Los Angeles to proceed with his post-hip surgery rehab and he remains engaged with the Lakers, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. Even though the soon-to-be free agent may never suit up for the team again, the Lakers will make their facilities available to Thomas for his rehab.

Head coach Luke Walton spoke highly of Thomas and the relationship he maintains with teammates — even teammates who he played with briefly due to injury.

“From what I know of him he’s very team-oriented,” Walton said. “His teammates have always loved him, he loves his teammates.”

Thomas appeared in 17 games with the Lakers, averaging 15.6 PPG and 5.0 APG. A troublesome hip ended Thomas’ season in the playoffs last year and delayed the start of his current season before sidelining him earlier this month.

Check out more Pacific Division notes below:

Nigel Hayes has had an adventurous 2017/18 season, which included a standout year in the G League with two teams, three separate 10-day contracts, and finally, a guaranteed deal with the Kings. As Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes, Hayes is excited to join the team and head coach Dave Joerger wants to find playing time for him. “That’s all you can ask for is an opportunity,” Hayes said. “In the talks my agent had with the organization, it was a great place for me to try to showcase what I can do, an opportunity to play in NBA games, play on a team to see what I can do to help contribute to a winning culture.”
In an in-depth piece, Bobby Marks of ESPN Insider (subscription required) looks ahead to the Kings‘ offseason, Marks breaks down the team’s potential free agent targets, draft picks, and salary cap breakdown.
As we relayed earlier this week, the Clippers do not expect to have Danilo Gallinari back during the regular season, which could spell the end of an injury-plagued first season with Los Angeles.

Pacific Notes: Ayton, Wear, Caruso, Fox, Thomas

April 2nd, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Potential top pick DeAndre Ayton indicated during a radio interview that he and Devin Booker could form a duo similar to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant during their Lakers years if he winds up with the Suns, the team’s SB Nation blog The Bright Side tweets. “Honestly, I could see myself in Phoenix,” the University of Arizona freshman center said in a CBS Sports Radio interview. “I could see a little Shaq and Kobe 2.0.” The Suns currently have the worst record in the league and will likely remain there. If they get the No. 1 selection, they could draft Ayton and then trade the first-rounders owed to them by the Heat and Bucks to move up and draft a point guard, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. If they fall to the No. 2 pick and Ayton is off the board, they would be happy to land Euro guard Luke Doncic and then move those same picks to get frontcourt help, Bordow adds.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

The Lakers have been forced to recall forward Travis Wear and guard Alex Caruso during the G League playoffs due to injuries, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register notes. They will likely stay with the Lakers for their game against the Jazz on Tuesday if Brandon Ingram is still recovering from a concussion and Lonzo Ball remains sidelined with a knee contusion.
The Kings want to see rookie point guard De’Aaron Fox take ownership of the team and become a better playmaker during the remaining games, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Fox needs to realize he can impact the game without having a hot shooting night, coach Dave Joerger told Jones. “He’s got to demand from the rest of his team that he’s the leader, and going forward, set the tone for what he’s looking for,” Joerger said. “And get the ball out faster, or ‘give me some space and I’ll get you a shot.’ Those kinds of things where you go to the next level of leadership or you can kind of just finish the season.”
Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will be represented once again by Excel Sports Management, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. Sam Goldfeder will be his agent, Mullen adds. Excel had been representing Thomas before signing with Goodwin Sports last fall.

Central Notes: Calderon, Thomas, Lopez, Lottery Pick

April 1st, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by marksuleymanov

Jose Calderon has become the Swiss army knife of players for the Cavaliers. As the team has dealt with injuries and inconsistency, Calderon has provided a spark in the lineup, on the bench, or any role he’s asked to fill, per USA TODAY Sports.

The 36-year-old has appeared in 53 games for the Cavaliers, starting 30 of them. His numbers are modest as he’s averaging 4.2 PPG 2.1 APG and 1.4 RPG in less than 16 minutes per contest. However, he’s always prepared to help the team, which is an invaluable commodity for a veteran team that underwent a midseason makeover. His teammate, LeBron James, is one of his biggest supporters.

“You got to have one or two guys like that on every team, someone who has kind of like zero ego, zero notion of entitlement,” James said. “Listen, his whole thing is like, ‘I’m going to stay ready. I’ll stay ready so if my number is called,’ and he goes out and produces and that’s big for our team because you never know when someone is going to go down.”

Check out more Central Division notes below:

Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer revisited the offseason trade that brought an injured Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers and shipped Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. Pluto writes that it would have probably made sense for Thomas to undergo hip surgery last season as he will miss the next four months due to hip surgery. Thomas never got acclimated to Cleveland and was shipped to the Lakers. Pluto also looks the deal for the Celtics and several other aspects of the deal.
Bulls center Robin Lopez was fined $25,000 for abusing game officials and failing to leave the court in a timely manner after he was ejected in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Heat on Thursday, the league announced.
Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago looks at the Bulls’ odds of falling to a top three pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and which players would make sense as targets.

Isaiah Thomas To Miss Remainder Of Season

March 29th, 2018 at 6:16pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers will be without guard Isaiah Thomas for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The 29-year-old midseason addition underwent arthroscopic surgery on his hip today and will be shut down for four months, Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet adds.

As we wrote yesterday, the procedure was intended to clean up the joint that has plagued him since last season. It will now bring to an end his 17-game stint with Los Angeles after coming over from the Cavaliers in a mid-season purge.

Thomas averaged a commendable 15.6 points and 5.0 assists per game in 17 games for the Lakers but will hit unrestricted free agency eager to prove that he’s more than an offensive sparkplug best suited for a reserve role. In 2016/17, of course, Thomas finished fifth in MVP voting with averages of 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game.

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Ball, Giles, Looney

March 29th, 2018 at 12:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas was facing a tough free agent market even before Wednesday’s announcement that he will have season-ending surgery on his right hip, according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports.

Only a few teams have the cap room available to give Thomas the kind of contract he was expecting, and most of them aren’t good fits. The Sixers already have Markelle Fultz, the Mavericks are set with rookie Dennis Smith Jr. and the rebuilding Bulls and Hawks aren’t likely to invest heavily in a 29-year-old guard with serious injury concerns.

“No one is going long there [with a deal], in all likelihood,” former Cavaliers GM David Griffin said. “[The hip] is a very significant factor. His whole game is predicated upon quickness and creating shot separation. If he can’t do that, he is a small non-defender.”

The Lakers have expressed interest in re-signing Thomas, but that’s only if they strike out on their primary targets in free agency.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Lonzo Ball will have an MRI on his left knee today, but the Lakers rookie isn’t overly concerned about the results, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Ball had to leave last night’s game after being kneed in the back of the leg in the third quarter. “It wasn’t in the spot that I previously hurt that caused me to miss a lot of games, so I wasn’t too worried about it,” Ball said. “It’s just kind of like a bruise. It just hurts, but I should be back soon.”
The Kings believe injured rookie Harry Giles has a bright future, but that won’t stop them from drafting a big man if they get an early lottery pick, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Giles, who has sat out the entire season after undergoing three knee operations in four years, tells Alex Kramers of NBA.com he knows he will eventually get a chance to prove himself. “I know that my time is coming,” he said. “It’s not like I’m [thinking], ‘I might not play. I might not do this or do that.’ I know it’s about just me working and getting better. I have to look at it like it’s only getting me ready for when my time really comes.”
Kevon Looney is making the most of his playing time with the injury-ravaged Warriors, writes Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area. The third-year power forward/center has finally gotten past the hip problems that required surgery early in his career. “He’s always had that game,” said teammate Andre Iguodala. “But the NBA is all about that confidence and opportunity. He’s feeling better, too. But even when he was hurting with his hips, I could always see his game.”

Surgery Set For Isaiah Thomas; Lakers Still Interested In Re-Signing Him

March 28th, 2018 at 12:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right hip tomorrow, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The Lakers confirmed the report, (Twitter link), adding that more updates will be provided after the procedure is complete.

Thomas will have a scope performed on the hip and faces an “extended” rehabilitation process, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It will mark an early end to his season and raises another question mark as he heads toward free agency this summer.

The purpose of the operation is to “clean up the joint of all inflammatory debris related to his injury from last season,” Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York said in a statement to ESPN. He described the process as minimally invasive.

This setback hasn’t changed the Lakers’ stance on wanting to keep Thomas beyond this season, Wojnarowski adds, although the team’s plans will hinge on its ability to attract free agents LeBron James and Paul George. If the front office can’t land a big star with its cap space, that increases the chances that Thomas might receive a hefty one-year offer. If the Lakers are successful, Thomas would have to be renounced to help create cap space.

Thomas, who was acquired at the trade deadline last month, has impressed management and coach Luke Walton in his fit with the team, Woj adds, although the progress he makes in rehab between now and the start of July will affect the offers he receives.

Thomas plans to divide his rehab time between Los Angeles and his home in Seattle, and the Lakers have offered to let him use the team practice facility.

After playing at a near-MVP level last year in Boston, Thomas has been limited to 32 games this season — 15 with the Cavaliers and 17 with the Lakers. He has averaged 15.6 points per night since coming to L.A., mostly in a reserve role.

Isaiah Thomas To Have Hip Evaluated

March 26th, 2018 at 7:40pm CST by marksuleymanov

Lakers point guard Isaiah Thomas is en route to New York to have his ailing hip evaluated, tweets Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell.

Thomas was ruled out of the Lakers’ last two games on Saturday and Monday due to the hip. He was sidelined for a portion of last year’s postseason due to a right femoral-acetabular impingement with a labral tear in his hip. The injury carried over into 2017/18; after he was traded to the Cavaliers, Thomas did not debut until January 2.

Thomas struggled in 15 games with the Cavaliers, averaging 14.7 PPG and 4.5 APG as the team struggled to mesh. The Cavs went in a different direction at the deadline and traded Thomas to the Lakers.

Thomas has played well in 17 games with Los Angeles, averaging 15.6 APG and 5.0 APG.

It has been a tough past year for Thomas, who finished fifth in NBA Most Valuable Player voting last spring. He is currently on his third team in less than a year, and has not been healthy for most this season. Thomas, who is set to hit free agency after this season, made his desire for a max contract clear in 2017, but that outcome seems very unlikely now.

Injury Notes: Thomas, Paul, Booker, Simmons

March 24th, 2018 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The hip injury that caused Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas to miss nearly the first half of the season appears to be acting up again, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Thomas woke up this morning with stiffness in his right hip and will be held out of the final two games of the team’s road trip.

Thomas first suffered the injury last year in Boston, and the Cavaliers held him out of the first 36 games of this season while he was recovering. The latest flare-up could be a warning sign for any team interested in the 29-year-old guard when he becomes a free agent this summer.

There’s more news on the NBA injury front:

Down to eight players for tonight’s game, the Lakers will get some help tomorrow when two-way player Gary Payton II joins the team after the G League regular season ends. However, fellow two-way contract holder Alex Caruso is sidelined by a concussion, according to Bill Oram of The SoCal News Group (Twitter link).
Rockets guard Chris Paul will be held out of tonight’s game, but could return tomorrow, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Coach Mike D’Antoni said Paul is making progress after hurting his hamstring Tuesday night.
Devin Booker will miss his fourth straight game tonight with a sprained right hand, but coach Jay Triano is optimistic that he can play Monday, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). T.J. Warren is missing his third consecutive game with left knee inflammation after a non-contact injury last Saturday (Twitter link).
Magic swingman Jonathon Simmons, who has missed the past two games with a right wrist contusion, will probably be held out another week, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
Bulls guard Kris Dunn remains in a walking boot with a toe injury, but was able to exercise today on an elliptical machine, reports K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Swelling has gone down and he will join the team on its upcoming road trip, but coach Fred Hoiberg said Dunn will need to be “reconditioned” if the team doesn’t shut him down for the rest of the season.

Celtics Notes: Smart, Irving, Morris, Thomas, McCarty

March 20th, 2018 at 4:51pm CST by clarkcrum

As indicated in previous stories, Marcus Smart is expected to miss about six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. The plan is for Smart to return to action should the Celtics make it to the second round of the playoffs and, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN, Smart is supremely confident that he will be able to return this postseason.

“I am confident [I’ll be back for the playoffs],” Smart said Monday night. “I had one of the top [hand] doctors do it. The surgery was a success… I’m real, real, real excited and eager to get back out there, whenever that is, hopefully it’s sooner than later, like I said. Hopefully the team can and, like I think they’re gonna do, is handle their business and have me back [in the postseason].”

Smart originally thought his injury was only a sprain, and even after further testing revealed more extensive ligament damage, he weighed non-surgical treatment options before finally deciding on having the surgery when doctors told him he risked further complications that might force him out of action for a longer period of time should he have tried to play before undergoing the procedure.

“The first [thing] was could I damage it any more?” Smart said. “When we went to get the second opinion, they said the same thing: The ligament is torn completely. There’s nothing else you can do. Then there was, ‘OK, could I possibly play with it and get the surgery afterwards?’ That came into play and when she said — the doctor pretty much said, ‘If it was me, I would get this now. The longer you wait, the harder it [will be] and cause more complications. So just get it over with and then there’s a possibility you could be back sooner than you thought.'”

There’s more out of Boston:

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving plans on obtaining a second opinion later this week for his ailing left knee, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Marcus Morris was fined $15K for “verbal abuse of a game official,” it was announced today by the NBA. The incident occurred at the conclusion of the Celtics’ 19-point loss to New Orleans on Sunday.
Former Celtic and soon-to-be free agent guard Isaiah Thomas is willing to return to Boston next season, reports NBC Sports Boston. Asked on Twitter whether he would consider a reunion this offseason, Thomas tweeted, “Anything can happen.”
Celtics assistant coach and former player Walter McCarty will interview for the head coaching vacancy at the University of Evansville, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Born and raised in Evansville, IN, McCarty is looking to become a head coach for the first time after also having spent time as an assistant at the University of Louisville and with the Pacers.