Los Angeles Lakers: Big names to avoid during 2018 NBA free agency

3. Isaiah Thomas, PG, Los Angeles Lakers

I know Isaiah Thomas looked good at times during his stay with the Lakers. There’s plenty of reason to be intrigued by the upside that having him on the roster presents. At the same time, there’s just too much risk that comes with paying top dollar for the diminutive point guard.

The main issue at this moment is his dysfunctional hips. Thomas missed a good chunk of the 2017-18 season after undergoing offseason surgery to fix it. It cost him his first three months with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then, the problem resurfaced near season’s end, again forcing him to undergo surgery and costing him his final 11 games with the Lakers.

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This is clearly a concern that isn’t going away. While that could allow Los Angeles to re-sign Thomas at a discount, I still don’t believe it’ll be money well spent.

Even when he was healthy, Thomas was far too unpredictable. He’d turn in a great game one night, and then follow it up with a disastrous outing the next. His shooting was uninspiring (38.3 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from downtown with the Lakers), and he was among the team’s worst defenders (via NBA.com).

Some fans will try to convince you that a Thomas return is necessary. However, seeing as he wants to be a starter (via USA TODAY‘s Sam Amick) and likely expects to be paid like one, I don’t see it working out. He’s too inconsistent and unreliable for the Lakers to invest heavily in an undersized, injury-prone point guard — a position they already have a budding star at.

Sorry, Isaiah. Good luck finding another team willing to roll the dice on those fragile hips.