All-Star Point Guard Planning NBA Comeback and the Cavaliers Should Sign Him
If Isaiah Thomas wants to make an NBA comeback and is still capable of playing meaningful minutes, the Cleveland Cavaliers should attempt to sign him.
In a recent interview with Forbes' Mat Issa, two-time All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas revealed that an NBA comeback is still on his mind. The 34-year-old told Issa that he's "still working out and staying ready" in the event of a potential return to the Association before (hopefully) finding a coaching gig at the University of Washington.
“I’m still trying to play the game of basketball. I want to get back to the NBA. So, I’m still working out and staying ready.”
— Mat Issa (@matissa15) December 8, 2023
Check out my interview with Isaiah Thomas ⬇️⬇️:https://t.co/9NdN3SAyeL
If Thomas is serious about an NBA comeback and wants to play meaningful basketball before hanging up his shoes, the Cleveland Cavaliers should do what they can to get him on the roster.
Cavaliers Rumors: Isaiah Thomas NBA Comeback
After a slow start to the 2023-24 NBA season, the Cavaliers are back on track with a 9-3 record in their last 12 games. The successful run has them now sitting 13-9 on the year, which is good enough for the Eastern Conference's sixth-place spot.
Having said that, Cleveland could use someone like Thomas for the remainder of the season. Is he still in his prime? No, but he's still better than a decent portion of the league and could provide J.B. Bickerstaff's team with a much-needed spark plug off the bench.
After all, the Cavs have one of the weaker benches in the league, averaging 29.2 points (7th-fewest) and 3.8 threes (10th-fewest) on 34.6% shooting (10th-worst). In fact, they're shooting 34.8% from the three-point line as a team this season (8th-worst).
Thomas won't magically fix those issues alone, but he can help. He looked solid while closing out the 2021-22 campaign with the Charlotte Hornets, averaging 8.3 points and 1.4 threes with a 39.7% success rate from behind the arc in 12.9 minutes across 17 games. He hasn't played since that cycle, so it'll be interesting to see if he can pick up from where he left off.
Furthermore, the ex-Washington product is someone who Cavaliers fans know after he was sent to Cleveland as a part of the Kyrie Irving trade with the Boston Celtics. He only played 15 games with the Cavs, averaging 14.7 points on .361/.253/.868 shooting before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2018.
At the end of the day, signing Thomas to a one-year veteran minimum deal would be a low-risk, high-reward situation. Even if general manager Mike Gansey doesn't feel like committing to the whole year just yet, he can always sign the veteran guard to a 10-day contract — something he's done five times throughout his career.
Besides, adding an experienced veteran is rarely a bad idea if winning a title is the ultimate goal. As it stands, the Cavaliers currently own the 11th-best odds to win the 2023-24 NBA Finals on FanDuel Sportsbook.
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