Isaiah Thomas: 1 year, $2 million (Denver Nuggets)
Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas has agreed to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets, league sources tell ESPN. Thomas will reunite with Michael Malone, who coached him with the Kings.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 13, 2018
Despite the Denver Nuggets‘ bogged down salary cap sheet, a look at the actual roster might surprise the casual observer: Other than Jamal Murray, this team didn’t have a single point guard. By agreeing to a one-year, minimum deal with Isaiah Thomas, the Nuggets fixed that problem.
Not long after news of the IT agreement broke, ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski also reported a massive salary dump of Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur to duck the luxury tax, making a minimum deal more than worth it.
Thomas comes with his fair share of concerns. He’ll probably never be starting-caliber point guard for a playoff team again, let alone the fringe MVP candidate he was in Boston. Those hip problems limited him to 32 highly ineffective games in Cleveland and Los Angeles last year, where he managed 15.2 points per game on dismal .373/.293/.893 splits.
There are also worries he’s got a bit of that Derrick Rose Syndrome going on, as a guy who is no longer the guy but believes he could be again. However, if he accepts his role as a backup to a promising young point in Murray, IT as a sixth man could really help a Nuggets team looking to return to the playoffs. It’s not a perfect signing, and there’s still the possibility he’ll grow disgruntled with a lesser role, but if he embraces it, this could work out well — or at least not be a disaster — for both parties.
Bourguet Grade: A-
Hoops Habit Grade: B+