Isaiah Thomas is two years removed from his last NBA appearance, but the once-Boston Celtics star guard hasn’t refrained from striving for a comeback.
On Tuesday, Thomas reportedly signed with the Utah Jazz’s G-League affiliate Salt Lake City Stars, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. After years of Drew League exhibition runs and private workouts, Thomas now takes the biggest leap toward rejoining an NBA roster.
Thomas has previous ties to the organization, reaching the peak of his NBA career under now-Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, who acquired the undersized guard in a 2015 Celtics-Phoenix Suns trade — a classic Ainge fleece. Boston sent Marcus Thornton and a 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers first-rounder to Phoenix while getting 24.7 points per game on 44.3% shooting in three seasons from Thomas.
Ainge, however, also put Thomas through the wringer of the NBA’s business side, using the ex-Boston fan favorite to land Kyrie Irving ahead of the 2017-18 season. From then, Thomas, who was poised for a payday, underwent a massive decline in stock value. He underwent hip injuries which anchored his breakout run and left Thomas to sign short-term deals with the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers (twice), New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and most recently, the Charlotte Hornets — none of which got even a snippet of a prime formed version of Thomas.
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In Charlotte, Thomas averaged 8.3 points and 1.4 assists, logging a career-low 12.9 minutes off the bench through 17 games.
Having gone through a handful of injuries, which sunk Thomas from a high-volume scorer to a defensive liability with offensive restrictions, the market hasn’t been too hot for the last pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Thomas gave the Celtics 110% routinely and ultimately paid the price before even getting to enjoy the fruits of his labor in free agency.
While it’s unclear what Utah envisions Thomas bringing to the table, Ainge could utilize the 5-foot-9 veteran as a mentor for a roster looking to re-establish itself in the coming years. Under Ainge, the Jazz traded away franchise star Donovan Mitchell, now of the Cavaliers, and have several big-picture decisions to make, including whether or not to keep Lauri Markkanen aboard or fully invest in a youth movement rebuild.
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The Stars have 11 games remaining on their schedule.
Featured image via Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports Images
