Isaiah Thomas Reportedly Will Sign Mavericks Contract After Lakers Stint

Isaiah Thomas is signing with the Dallas Mavericks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

The veteran point guard is expected to be available for Wednesday's game against the Sacramento Kings. He'll provide some depth in Dallas' backcourt after Luka Doncic and Trey Burke entered the NBA's health and safety protocols on Dec. 22.

Thomas signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 17 and made four appearances. In his first game, he had 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

The 32-year-old averaged 9.3 points and 1.5 assists in 25.3 minutes per game across the four contests.

Los Angeles declined to offer him another 10-day contract, but Charania reported multiple teams were likely to pursue him upon his departure.

Thomas has never been the same player since a hip injury ended a career year in 2016-17 when he averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists. He has played just 91 games in the subsequent five seasons, putting up 12.4 points per contest.

The 5'9" guard lost some of the explosion that made him a dynamic scorer, and he hasn't compensated by becoming more efficient. He has shot 33.7 percent from three-point range since the 2017-18 campaign. He went 5-of-22 from beyond the arc with L.A. this year.

Couple that with the defensive issues that predated his hip injury, and Thomas' days as a high-usage option are likely over.

But his first game with the Lakers showed he can be an effective contributor on the right night.