It has been a whirlwind twelve months for Isaiah Thomas, to say the least. After finishing fifth in the NBA MVP voting after the 2016-17 NBA season, posting 28.9 points per game for the Boston Celtics and leading the league in fourth quarter scoring, it has been one of the biggest falls from grace we’ve witnessed in recent memory.
A hip injury cut Thomas’ last season with the Celtics short, and shortly after was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a deal that brought superstar guard Kyrie Irving to TD Garden in exchange for Thomas. It sent a shock throughout the league, as Thomas was traded immediately after having one of the greatest individual seasons in franchise history.
Thomas then underwent a strict rehab program for the Cavaliers before underwhelming in return to the court and quickly shipped off again after less than 20 games. The Cavs were struggling and Thomas was a shadow of the offensive machine of the previous campaign, spelling the swift end to his brief time in Northeast Ohio.
After sitting out the remainder of last season in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey, Thomas surprisingly signed for the Denver Nuggets this offseason. He signed for the veteran’s minimum to increase his value after losing out on a lot of money after his slide down the point guard rankings during this time.
As he is about to embark on a fresh start, Thomas spoke on the Tiki and Tierney CBS Sports Radio Show and took the time to reflect on his time with the Cavs, stating he believed people wanted greatness instantly.
“I only played 13 or 14 games coming off seven months of sitting out to a whole new situation, a whole new team, organization, players I’ve never played with,” Thomas said. “You give anybody 14 games and we go 7-7, you can’t say it worked or it didn’t work. People were just expecting greatness from the jump, and that’s what comes with being on a team with arguably the best player in the world.
“They expect us to go undefeated, and it just didn’t work as fast as people wanted it to. If they didn’t make the trade, I think that team was built better for the playoffs than the team that they had. But you can’t control those things. You just go about your day.”
It’s a shame it never worked out for Thomas for the Wine and Gold, but timing is everything in the NBA. Thomas now has a unique opportunity in front of him to raise his stock and prove everyone wrong all over again for the Nuggets.
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