The Denver Nuggets scooped up perhaps one of the best talents left in the free agent pool, signing the injury-marred Isaiah Thomas on a one-year deal.
Looking back only a year ago, this signing would not have been possible — as Thomas was coming off a career-high scoring average of 28.9 points per game and bound for a beefy contract extension from the Boston Celtics.
Yet Thomas' future changed after his hip injury, one he aggravated during the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, prematurely putting an end to his dream of a season.
The 5-foot-9 dynamo was then traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers that summer, then to the Los Angeles Lakers before the trade deadline, a team who wanted no part of him during the free agency period.
In short, Thomas went from expecting long-term loyalty to living in four different cities in the span of one year, which gave him his reservations after agreeing to a veteran's minimum deal with the Nuggets.
Terms were made clear by his former coach Mike Malone, who knew he wanted Thomas as the scoring punch off the bench to replace a recently-promoted Will Barton, who will start at small forward next season.
“I want you know that Jamal Murray is our starting point guard now, and in the future, and if you're looking to go somewhere to fight for starting minutes, that's not going to happen here,” Malone told Thomas, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thomas also had an eye-to-eye conversation with team president Tim Connelly, having more in common than previously expected.
“I wanted to talk to him eye to eye,” Thomas said. “I wanted him to feel my passion for playing.”
Thomas felt he was wronged by Boston and Cleveland, so he told Connelly that he didn't know him, and thus, didn't trust him. Connelly nodded and reminded Thomas “I don't trust you, either.”
Yet this mutual understanding is one both parties can cope with. The Nuggets need a bench spark plug, and who better than a hungry Thomas, chomping at the bit to reinstate his real value into the free agent market for a splurging 2019 free agency.
Neither the team nor Thomas are expecting this to be a long-time marriage, but if the two can mutually benefit of a one-time partnership, there is no better trust than knowing that interests align.
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