Account
Isaiah Thomas Rumors: Magic 'Unlikely to Move Forward' with a Contract Offer
July 8, 2018
Isaiah Thomas remains one of the biggest names remaining in NBA free agency, and according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Orlando Magic have expressed some interest in the veteran point guard.
The team reportedly is playing the waiting game for the time being, however:
And Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Magic had never gotten to the point of negotiations with Thomas:
Josh Robbins @JoshuaBRobbinsThe Orlando Magic and Isaiah Thomas never were negotiating a possible contract. Is it correct to say the Magic explored the possibility of signing Thomas? Yes. But there were no negotiations. The addition of Jerian Grant indicates Orlando had decided not to ultimately pursue IT.
Free agency has been a buyer's market, and thus far, the bids haven't come rolling in for Thomas. The 29-year-old had a tumultuous 2017-18 season, which started with a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Kyrie Irving deal. Thomas spent much of his time in Cleveland recovering from a torn labrum in his right hip, ultimately playing in just 15 games with the team (14.7 PPG, 4.5 APG).
Thomas never appeared to be a great fit alongside LeBron James and the Cavs, and he was once again traded to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of February's deadline. He came off the bench for the Lakers, averaging 15.6 points and 5.0 assists in 26.8 minutes per game, before he cut his season off early to have arthroscopic surgery on his hip.
Thomas never quite seemed healthy last season, especially when contrasted to the 2016-17 campaign, when he posted 28.9 points and 5.9 assists for the Boston Celtics, leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Had Thomas hit free agency last season, it's hard to imagine he'd have waited this long for a big offer. But given the limited amount of teams with cap space remaining, and his injury-plagued 2017-18 campaign, Thomas likely isn't going to get the long-term offers for top dollar he may have been expecting.
