Isaiah Thomas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Okogie, Paul, Powell

March 20th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas isn’t content just to be back in the NBA, writes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. The 35-year-old guard, who signed his 10-day deal with the Suns earlier today, hopes the opportunity will revive his career.

“I want to play a few more years in the league, so hopefully this is a setup for that,” Thomas said. “Whatever the opportunity is, I’m ready to make an impact each and every day. Whether I play or not, it’s bigger than putting the ball in the basket for me. Like, I’m able to lead — lead by example, lead by my experiences and just help in any way possible.”

Coach Frank Vogel said Thomas is a “guy that everyone loves,” but nothing has been promised beyond the initial 10-day deal. Phoenix has an opening on its 15-man roster, and Vogel indicated that the organization wants to see what Thomas can contribute before making a commitment. He added that Thomas fills a need because Saben Lee is running out of games on his two-way contract.

“He’s a very well-liked, respected guy in this league, in this NBA player fraternity, but we’re gonna see where his game is at,” Vogel said of Thomas. “Again, I don’t know how much he’ll play for us. He’s really here from a depth standpoint because Saben Lee only has four games left.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Before tonight’s game, Vogel told reporters that Suns shooting guard Josh Okogie is close to returning from his lower abdominal strain (video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). Okogie hasn’t played since March 2.
Chris Paul talked to Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle about the role he played in driving Jonathan Kuminga and other young Warriors players to develop their talents. “It’s hard (on the young players), because I’ve got a very strong personality, man, and … it is like a coach, and you should be worried if I ain’t saying nothing to you,” Paul said. “Seriously, I’m just constantly trying to teach and play and compete at the same time.”
Clippers swingman Norman Powell is a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year honors, notes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Among players who are primarily reserves, Powell ranks third in scoring, second in field goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage and fourth in minutes per game. “I think it would be amazing. It would be a lot for me,” he said. “It would be recognition for the importance for the team and being able to step up and help the team win and just a testament to all my hard work throughout the years. I feel like I’ve always been an underdog, having to earn my stripes and my spot. Even when I do really well one season, the next season it’s not automatically given. I’ve got to work to get it and prove myself.” Powell is dealing with a left leg contusion and it’s uncertain if he’ll play during the team’s two-game road trip, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Isaiah Thomas Signs 10-Day Deal With Suns

March 20th, 2024 at 12:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 20: The signing is official, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets.

MARCH 16: The Suns will add former All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas on a 10-day contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 35-year-old guard recently joined the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League in hopes of landing another NBA opportunity. He showed he still has his scoring touch, averaging 32.5 points in four games while shooting 45% from three-point range.

Thomas will provide another veteran scorer with playoff experience for a Phoenix team that’s locked in a tight race to avoid the play-in tournament. The Suns entered tonight percentage points behind Sacramento for the sixth spot and one game ahead of eighth-place Dallas.

The 11-year veteran has been out of the NBA since the 2021/22 season, when he made brief appearances with the Lakers and Mavericks before ending the year with the Hornets.

Thomas was an All-Star with Boston in 2015/16 and ’16/17 before suffering a right hip injury that derailed his career. He bounced around the league after that, and most of his recent stops have been on 10-day contracts.

Phoenix plays in Milwaukee at noon Central time on Sunday and has a three-day break before its next game, so it’s unclear whether or not Thomas will sign his new deal right away. If his contract begins when the team returns home on Wednesday, he would be eligible for six games over the following 10 days. A second 10-day deal would take him close to the end of the season, but the Suns would have to give him a standard contract to make him eligible for the playoffs.

Phoenix has a roster opening, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to make room for Thomas, who will earn $183,704 over the course of his 10 days with the team. The Suns will take on a cap hit of $116,075.

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Vezenkov, Ellis, Dinwiddie

March 18th, 2024 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Thomas is expected to be available for the Suns’ game against Philadelphia on Wednesday, John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix tweets.

While the transaction has not officially been finalized yet, Thomas is expected to sign a 10-day contract with the Suns. The 35-year-old guard recently joined the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League in hopes of landing another NBA opportunity. He showed he still has his scoring touch, averaging 32.5 points in four games while shooting 45% from three-point range.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Kings rookie forward Sasha Vezenkov (Grade 3 ankle sprain) was a full participant on Monday at the team’s shootaround. He won’t play against the Grizzlies but is making good progress toward a return to action, Sean Cunningham of the Kings Beat podcast tweets. Vezenkov hasn’t played since Feb. 9.
The Kings are 6-0 in games that Keon Ellis has started, but the second-year guard told James Ham of The Kings Beat in a Q&A that he tries not to make too much of that stat. “There’s just more basketball to be played, so I don’t get too deep into those things,” he said. “I just try to focus on the next game and just try to lock in for every game, for real. So the record will be whatever it is if I’m as locked in as I can be. I just kinda let it figure itself out, for real.” Ellis signed a three-year contract last month after starting the season on a two-way deal.
Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie is adjusting to his bench role after starting 48 games for Brooklyn this season. The Raptors waived him after he was traded but Dinwiddie doesn’t feel like a typical backup at this stage of his career. “Obviously, the way (things) shook out in Brooklyn kind of put me more so in this box than my game being in that box,” he said, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). “It’s not like I’m 35 or coming off injury or washed or anything. … Like, I’m one of them guys. Let’s not get it twisted. But I also understand being a part of a bigger unit.”

Western Notes: J. Green, Doncic, Warriors, Suns, Jazz

March 17th, 2024 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Josh Green‘s sprained right ankle is expected to sideline him for at least a couple weeks or so, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters, including Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), on Sunday.

Green had been a key part of Dallas’ rotation in recent weeks, averaging 10.2 points per game on .522/.438/.826 shooting in his past 24 games leading up to Thursday’s contest in Oklahoma City, which he exited after just four minutes when he injured his ankle.

The Mavericks did share some more positive injury news on Sunday, announcing that Luka Doncic will be available vs. Denver this afternoon after missing Thursday’s game due to a hamstring ailment (Twitter link via MacMahon).

Let’s round up a few more items from around the Western Conference:

Moses Moody, Kevon Looney, and Dario Saric were all DNP-CDs on Saturday for the Warriors, while Gary Payton II played just seven minutes as head coach Steve Kerr tightened his rotation, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Payton figures to be “peppered into the mix” going forward, Slater says, but Moody is being pushed out of the rotation and Looney and Saric are on the outside looking in. “It is tough,” Stephen Curry said. “Loon, Moses, Dario, probably in that order — especially Loon and Moses — there’s probably going to be times where they’re going to be needed. They’ll be ready. That’s the challenge they face. But this time of year, building an identity of how we want to play, that (tightened rotation is) huge.”
Kevin Durant said he’s “excited” for Isaiah Thomas to join the Suns and head coach Frank Vogel called the veteran guard a “hell of a player,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Vogel noted that adding Thomas will help Phoenix preserve the four active games remaining on Saben Lee‘s two-way contract.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy was upset by how his team played on Saturday vs. Minnesota, telling reporters after the game that there were far too many instances of players attempting to force the issue themselves when teammates were open. “Stats don’t mean s–t. I don’t care about your individual stats,” Hardy said, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t care how many points you score. I don’t care what you post on Instagram. It doesn’t matter. It’s a team sport, play to win. And we have to nip this in the bud now because — I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again — there will not be free minutes in this program. So you’re either gonna start learning and you’re going to start playing the right way and you’re gonna start participating with your teammates, or you’re not gonna play.”

Pacific Notes: Davis, Russell, Thomas, Gordon, Curry, Green

March 16th, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers center Anthony Davis was forced to leave Saturday night’s game against Golden State because of an eye contusion, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

The injury occurred in the first half when Davis was accidentally hit in the face by Trayce Jackson-Davis while making a layup. He was able to play a few more minutes, but was eventually removed and declared out for the second half.

Davis suffered from impaired vision and his eye was swollen shut, a source tells McMenamin (Twitter link). He will be monitored tonight and Sunday before a determination is made about whether he can play Monday against Atlanta.

While there’s no indication that this will be a long-term injury, ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that Davis is just shy of the 65-game minimum needed to qualify for postseason awards and All-NBA honors (Twitter link). He was at 64 games before tonight, including the finals of the in-season tournament, but he only played 12 minutes and the league requires at least 15 for the game to count toward the total.

Davis is averaging 24.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 blocks, so he’s a strong candidate for one of the All-NBA teams if he qualifies.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

D’Angelo Russell‘s $18.7MM player option for next season gives him a lot of leverage in deciding his future this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown (video link). Russell has become a major part of the Lakers‘ offense during the second half of the season, averaging 22 PPG and shooting 44% from long distance over the past 27 games. Wojnarowski points out that if L.A. wants to make a significant trade at the draft, the organization may need Russell to pick up his option and agree to go wherever he’s dealt.
Isaiah Thomas, who’s joining the Suns on a 10-day contract, is expected to eventually receive a standard deal to fill the team’s final roster spot, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Gambadoro doesn’t expect the 35-year-old guard to become part of the rotation, but he’ll serve as insurance heading into the postseason.
Eric Gordon was able to play 22 minutes on Friday night after missing the Suns‘ previous two games with a left knee contusion, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Rankin expects Gordon, Royce O’Neale, Bol Bol and Drew Eubanks to form the core of Phoenix’s second unit for the rest of the season.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both returned for Saturday’s game, giving the Warriors a fully healthy roster for the first time since November, observes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Curry missed three games this week with a sprained right ankle, and Green sat out Wednesday’s contest due to lower back stiffness. “I still believe we’re very capable of rattling off a string of victories, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen above you,” coach Steve Kerr said.

Northwest Notes: SGA, Bazley, I. Thomas, R. Jackson

March 15th, 2024 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in his 65th game of the season on Thursday, meaning he now officially qualifies for end-of-season awards such as Most Valuable Player and All-NBA, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

If Gilgeous-Alexander makes an All-NBA team this year – which is a virtual lock – he’ll become eligible to sign a super-max extension with Oklahoma City during the 2025 offseason. He’ll have met the performance criteria by having earned an All-NBA spot in each of the past two years, but will remain one season shy of the service time requirement — he’ll have six years of service after this season, and a super-max deal (which starts at 35% of the cap instead of 30%) can’t be signed until a player has at least seven seasons under his belt.

Given that Gilgeous-Alexander has been performing at an MVP level this season and shows no signs of slowing down, it seems safe to assume that super-max offer will be waiting for the two-time All-Star on July 1, 2025.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The terms of Darius Bazley‘s new three-year deal with the Jazz are virtually identical to those of Kenneth Lofton‘s contract, Hoops Rumors has learned. Bazley will make $500K the rest of this season via Utah’s room exception, with various trigger dates on non-guaranteed minimum salaries in 2024/25 and ’25/26. Because this is Bazley’s fifth NBA season, his minimum salaries are worth more than Lofton’s, so the overall value of his contract is approximately $5.74MM, whereas Lofton’s is about $4.9MM. The other difference between the two deals is that Bazley’s final year is simply non-guaranteed, rather than a team option.
Isaiah Thomas, who is playing with the Salt Lake City Stars as he pursues an NBA comeback, credited Jazz CEO Danny Ainge for pulling the strings to get him a shot with the team’s G League affiliate, per Jay King of The Athletic. “Danny helped make this thing happen,” Thomas said of the veteran executive who previously had the guard on his roster in Boston. “He connected the dots.”
Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson has been struggling with his shot in recent weeks, making just 36.8% of his attempts from the field and 25.5% of his three-pointers since February 4. However, he appreciates the fact that his teammates and coaches have encouraged him to shoot his way out of the slump, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). “They want me to continue to be myself. Continue to be aggressive. They’ve been kind of upset at me for not playing my game the last few,” Jackson said. “So then I started playing aggressive. Even still in the midst of missing shots. … But just hearing the encouragement from my teammates … once you have a great group like that — front office, coaches, teammates — believing in you like that, you can’t do anything but start believing in yourself again.”

And-Ones: Lamb, Thomas, McLemore, Biggest Buyers

March 10th, 2024 at 8:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jeremy Lamb suffered a season-ending ankle injury while playing for the Kings’ NBA G League team in Stockton, Sacramento Kings radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets.

Lamb resurfaced in the G League after the Sacramento waived him during training camp.

A former lottery pick, Lamb has appeared in 573 career regular season games with four teams, including – most recently – the Kings. However, the veteran swingman wasn’t in the league last season following a down year in 2021/22. He averaged 7.3 PPG on .383/.324/.840 shooting in 56 games (16.7 MPG) for Indiana and Sacramento in ’21/22.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Isaiah Thomas made a strong impression in his first game with the Jazz’s G League in Salt Lake City. Thomas, who signed with the Stars less than a week ago, posted 32 points and four assists in a win over the Texas Legends on Thursday. He followed that up with a 30-point, 8-assist outing on Sunday. Thomas is aiming to get back in the NBA. “I’m not going to give it up until nobody calls and they’re like, ‘Just stop.’ This has just been my life. It’s been an amazing run and I’m going to just keep it going,” Thomas told Alex Vejar of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Former NBA guard Ben McLemore has issued an apology for a drunken driving incident in Lugo, Spain, according to Eurohoops.net. McLemore is currently playing for CB Rio Breogan. “I have made a mistake that I am not proud of. Now, more than ever, my wish is to continue helping my teammates and the club, learn from this mistake, and set the right example for all those who believe in me, especially for the little ones,” he said via the statement. “For this reason, I sincerely apologize and I ask that no one doubt that I will give my best, personally and professionally, to help achieve the goals that we all want.”
Who will be the NBA’s biggest spenders this offseason? Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report takes a closer look at that subject, naming 10 teams that could be major players in the free agent market.

Isaiah Thomas To Join Jazz’s G League Team, Hopes For NBA Return

March 5th, 2024 at 4:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas is joining the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, in the hopes of eventually getting an NBA offer, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

In a December interview, Thomas confirmed that he was looking for another NBA opportunity.

“I’m still trying to play the game of basketball. I want to get back to the NBA,” he said at the time. “So, I’m still working out and staying ready.”

Thomas held workouts last summer for NBA teams during the Las Vegas Summer League last July, hoping to catch someone’s attention. He signed 10-day hardship deals with the Mavericks and Lakers during the 2021/22 season before catching on with the Hornets for the remainder of that campaign. He appeared in a total of 22 games that season, but wasn’t in the league in ’22/23.

Thomas’ career peaked when he averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game for the Celtics during the 2016/17 season. His career was sidetracked by a right hip injury. He has also played for Sacramento, Phoenix, Cleveland, Denver, Washington and New Orleans.

In 550 regular season games, Thomas has averaged 17.7 points and 4.8 assists in 28.3 minutes per night. A late second-round pick in 2011, he turned 35 last month.

And-Ones: Bronny, I. Thomas, Las Vegas, Livingston

December 10th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

After practicing with his Trojans teammates multiple times this week, Bronny James has been cleared to make his collegiate debut and will be available on Sunday for USC vs. Long Beach State, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

A freshman guard, Bronny is the son of Lakers superstar LeBron James and had been considered a possible lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft before suffering cardiac arrest in July. Less than five months after that health incident, he’s poised to return to the court.

According to USC head coach Andy Enfield, Bronny will come off the bench and will be on a minutes limit.

“It’s just going to be a feel for how the game’s going, how he’s playing, how he feels physically,” Enfield said last week. “[Sunday will] be very emotional for him as well as his teammates. But as the game progresses, I think he’ll settle in, and we’ll just play it half by half and see where he is.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Within a larger conversation about his induction into the University of Washington’s Husky Hall of Fame, veteran guard Isaiah Thomas tells Mat Issa of Forbes that he’s still hoping to make an NBA comeback. “I’m still trying to play the game of basketball. I want to get back to the NBA,” Thomas said. “So, I’m still working out and staying ready.”
With the NBA considering potential tweaks to the in-season tournament for 2024, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that the league only had a one-year agreement with Las Vegas, so there’s no guarantee the final four will be played at T-Mobile Arena again next year. That said, the NBA is obviously fond of the market and players seemed enthusiastic about the idea of traveling to Vegas for the IST semifinals and final.
On the subject of Las Vegas, Chris Mannix of SI.com argues that NBA expansion to Sin City is inevitable, writing that it’s a matter of “when” rather than “if.”
Former NBA guard Shaun Livingston has joined the National Basketball Players Association in a player engagement role, according to Amick (Twitter link). Livingston and Andre Iguodala, the NBPA’s new acting executive director, were teammates for several years in Golden State.

Southeast Notes: D. Smith, Heat, Poole, I. Thomas, Hornets

November 14th, 2023 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Even after Dru Smith was promoted from a two-way contract to the Heat‘s standard roster at the end of the preseason, he wasn’t considered a great bet to have a consistent role — the modest guarantee ($425K) he received on his new deal suggested his roster spot wouldn’t even necessarily be secure for the entire season.

However, injuries to some rotation players, including guard Tyler Herro, have created a path to regular minutes for Smith as of late. In Miami’s past three games – all victories – he has averaged 7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 23.1 minutes per night, impressing head coach Erik Spoelstra in the process, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required).

“Dru was good throughout all the stuff that he does,” Spoelstra said after Sunday’s win. “Ninety percent of it doesn’t show up in the box score, but coaches and teammates understand what he does.”

For his part, the 25-year-old guard indicated that he’s happy to do the dirty work necessary to help the Heat win games. For instance, he’s averaging 6.7 deflections per 36 minutes, which ranks second in the NBA among players who have logged at least 50 total minutes.

“Just trying to continue to impact winning more than anything else,” Smith said. “Really, whenever I get out there that is all I’m trying to do, is trying to make plays that are helping inch us close to wins.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald shares 10 observations from the Heat‘s first 10 games of the season, including the fact that the team is 5-0 since Haywood Highsmith replaced Kevin Love in the starting lineup. As Chiang notes, one offseason goal for the team was to add a backup center who could help the team hold its own in the non-Bam Adebayo minutes, but Thomas Bryant hasn’t been the answer so far — Miami has a -10.6 net rating with Bryant on the court, prompting Spoelstra to start using Love as the backup five.
Many of the “league observers” that Marc Stein (Substack link) has spoken to about the subject believe the Wizards‘ acquisition of Jordan Poole this offseason was more about trying to rebuild his value for a future trade than making him a long-term franchise cornerstone. If that’s the goal, it will take some more time to come to fruition — Poole is off to a slow start in D.C., with his shooting percentages dipping to 41.2% from the floor and 30.3% threes in the early going this season.
Veteran guard Isaiah Thomas continues to seek an NBA roster spot and suggested on social media that he has contacted at least one of his former teams to gauge their interest. Replying to a fan who advised him to call up Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak about a possible deal, Thomas tweeted, “I did lol.”