Los Angeles Lakers point guard Isaiah Thomas has had the worst contract year imaginable, but he’s not worried about his free agent prospects following a difficult year.
Thomas was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Lakers, and has since had season-ending hip surgery. He missed seven months with hip issues, but even after all that, he still described the hip as “very sore” and felt it important to get it fixed.
“I just feel like it was the right decision to do this to fix the problem, which I never solely fixed,” Thomas said, via Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. “I just tried to let it heal on his own and I think I did the best I possibly could while doing that.
“Now the problem is fixed and (I’m on) the road back to 100 percent.”
Thomas isn’t worried about the impact of injuries on his free agency, saying that it should be a net benefit now that he’s going to be fully healthy.
“The results will show that the surgery only fixed it,” Thomas said. “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.”
Thomas will have at least some options. He may have to settle for a one-year deal to prove he’s healthy and re-establish his value, though.
