Wizards news: Over the past couple of seasons, Isaiah Thomas has been looking for an opportunity to prove himself after recovering from a hip injury that derailed his career. That’s exactly what he got this summer, when the Washington Wizards decided to sign him to a one-year deal.
Last summer, Thomas signed a one-year deal with the Denver nuggets. Back then, he was still recovering from the hip surgery he had on his injured hip. He wasn’t ready for the start of the season, and by the time he got back, he was only able to play several games before the Nuggets decided to shut him down for the rest of the season.
It’s not that IT was still injured; the Nuggets were just riding a good wave of momentum and they feared that he might disrupt the team’s chemistry. Wizards head coach Scott Brooks told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that he liked what he saw from Thomas last season, despite the former All-Star’s brief time in Denver.
“There are a couple of things I look at. I watched him last year. He got healthy towards the end of season, but they were rolling, they’re like No. 1 ranked team in the West. And I watched their games. And I knew we were going to be looking for a point guard, and that guy showed so much leadership during games. He was like an assistant coach. He was standing up directing traffic, coming on the court during timeouts and talking to the guys that were playing in front of him.
“And to me that’s a sign of a winner.”
Brooks added that IT will be competing for the starting point guard spot at the start of training camp, but he said that they hope to see him play as well as he did before the injuries.
“You don’t want him late in the game, and we’re trying to get him back to that.”
But does Brooks really believe that IT still has what it takes to play at an elite level?
“...if you’re really good you’re gonna make in the mid 40s so you’re gonna miss 55 or maybe even 60 percent of them. And the guys that are like IT, Isaiah, he has that in him. He has that it factor.”
The Wizards are expected to be without John Wall for the entire 2019-20 season, which is why they decided to give Thomas a chance. And they’re hoping that the 5-foot-nine guard will be able to have a great year, not only for him to remind the league of who he once was, but also for Washington to have a serious shot of making it to the playoffs.
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