When Los Angeles Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas opted for season-ending hip surgery back in March, questions continued to be raised about how it would impact his free agency. After missing the first 36 games of the season with Cleveland, it has become apparent that injuries will likely play a role here.
But for Thomas, he doesn’t seem to be too concerned. In fact, Thomas had a pretty measured response when asked how he viewed his most recent surgery and a foray into free agency this summer.
“The results will show that the surgery only fixed it,” Thomas said, via The Orange County Register. “The world knew that I never got my labrum fixed when I was going through that and trying to heal on my own. … The decision that I made it felt like it was the best decision for me personally, individually, as a basketball player for the rest of my career.”
The injury itself dates back to Thomas’ playoff run with the Boston Celtics last season. Dealt to Cleveland in the Kyrie Irving trade prior to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, it’s clear that Thomas has not been 100 percent since initially suffering the injury.
Thomas also touched on what his mentality was when Cleveland traded the former All-Star to Los Angeles back in February.
“I came in here with … nothing on my agenda and nothing in my plans,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to play basketball and get that joy back and being on the Lakers brought that joy back from having a tough couple of months in Cleveland.”
While Thomas was seen as a throw in for the Lakers to move two long-term contracts, his recent surgery suggests a return to Los Angeles could be in the cards (more on that here).
Though, that’s going to be largely dependent on the market Thomas receives in free agency and whether he’s close to 100 percent when things open up in July.