The New York Knicks plan on waiving Lance Thomas' partially-guaranteed contract before his June 30 guarantee date, according to Ian Begley of SNY. However, the Knicks are open to bringing him back afterward.
Should the Knicks not waive Thomas before that date, he would earn $1 million of his $7.6 million salary for next season.
Begley notes that Thomas is valued highly in the organization for his leadership ability and his mentorship to younger players.
Thomas is coming off of a 2018-19 campaign in which he played 46 games, averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds over 17 minutes per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor, 27.8 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the free-throw line.
The 31-year-old, who played his collegiate basketball at Duke, went undrafted but eventually landed with the New Orleans Hornets for the 2011-12 campaign. He spent the first three years of his career with New Orleans before making his way to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2014-15 season, where he played in 22 games before being traded to the Knicks.
Thomas went on to appear in 40 contests and make 24 starts for New York that season, registering 8.3 points and three rebounds across 26 minutes a night while making 43.4 percent of his field-goal attempts, 33.3 percent of his long-distance tries and 74.2 percent of his free throws.
He has been a member of the Knicks ever since, with his best season coming in 2015-16 when he participated in 59 games and recorded 8.2 points and 2.2 rebounds through 22.3 minutes per game while connecting on 44.2 percent of his shots, 40.4 percent of his triples and 85.7 percent of his foul shots.
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