Denver Nuggets sign Isaiah Thomas to one-year deal

July 16, 2018

In a low-risk, potentially high-reward move, the Denver Nuggets have signed guard Isaiah Thomas to a one-year contract, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced.  Other outlets have reported that the deal is worth the bargain price of $2 million.

After averaging a a career-high 28.9 points per game in 2016-17 with Boston, Thomas had positioned himself for a large payday when his contract expired.  However, a hip injury, followed by two trades, and subsequent surgery ultimately derailed those plans, raising questions about his overall health.

Because of those health concerns, the market for Thomas was weak, and Denver was able to sign him on the cheap.  But should the diminutive Thomas return to full health, his acquisition would provide Denver with a dynamic scorer who can create offense for himself and others.

“It’s not every day you have the chance to add a player with the talent and pedigree of Isaiah Thomas,” said Connelly. “Isaiah is a player that we know will work extremely hard every single day he steps onto the basketball court and will do anything he can to help our team win. We are excited to add Isaiah to our already explosive core and we can’t wait to get started.”

Despite being a defensive liability due to his size, Thomas, 29, is still relatively young.  Given his health concerns and the Nuggets young guard corps, Thomas is expected to have a reserve role.

Thomas played under Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone in Sacramento during the 2013-14 season, where he put up averages of 20.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.30 steals per game.

The seven-year veteran has gone on to become a two-time NBA All-Star, was named to the 2016-17 All-NBA Second Team and has won the NBA’s Player of the Month Award three times, and Player of the Week Award five times.

The Tacoma, Washington native has appeared in 473 games (324 starts) and posted career averages of 18.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 29.8 minutes per game. He has shot .389 from beyond the arc and .877 from the free throw line throughout his seven NBA seasons.

In 2014-15, Thomas joined the Boston Celtics where he helped lead them back to the playoffs following a 25-57 campaign the previous season. He was named to his first All-Star team in 2015-16, appearing in all 82 games and averaging 22.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.11 steals per game. He followed that campaign up by ranking third in the NBA in scoring (28.9 ppg) and second in free throw percentage (.909) in 2016-17 while being named an All-Star for the second consecutive season.

Thomas has appeared in 25 career playoff games, averaging 22.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. The Celtics made the postseason in each of his three seasons there, highlighted by a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016-17 and a career-high 53 points vs. Washington in the second round that same year.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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