Orlando Magic: 3 reasons they should sign Isaiah Thomas

The Orlando Magic are in need of anything at all to re-ignite their faltering campaign, and Isaiah Thomas might just be the answer.

As we head towards the All-Star break, the Orlando Magic continue to puzzle and annoy their fans. These days they are playing mostly uninspired basketball, while still winning just enough games so as to keep them in the hunt for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Even if all that will guarantee is a hammering in round one of the playoffs at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Still, taking a step backward and not getting to the postseason at all is not a thought worth considering. The Magic are 24-31, with the Washington Wizards (20-33) and their two-game win streak getting a little too close for comfort. If not for the Magic winning their last two games as well, they could be in an even more precarious position.

The addition of James Ennis III at the trade deadline brought nothing more than a collective shrugs, but they have yet to lose while he has been with the team. Tongue-in-cheek stats like that aside, the Magic needed at least one new face to break up the malaise.

Ennis III is only averaging a shade under 15 minutes a game so far, and that number may not increase as the season continues on. But he is somebody who head coach Steve Clifford can use to create new and different looks to throw at opponents.

Now that the deadline has come and gone, there are some other players who are available as a result of being let go, and point guard Isaiah Thomas is one of them. Traded from the Wizards to the LA Clippers, the unfortunate and unfair career arc of Thomas took another cruel turn when he was promptly waived

This can be to the Magic’s gain however, even if it is only for the remainder of this season. Building a competitive rotation in order to even make it to the playoffs is what they should be doing, with everybody else on the team coming under fire for one reason or another recently. Even Markelle Fultz has hit his own version of the rookie wall. Here is why signing Thomas makes sense.

3. He will excite fans

If there’s one thing Orlando Magic fans need to be doing more of right now, it’s smiling. Sports fans have awfully short memories, and as recently as 18 months ago all seemed lost in Orlando. Even at this stage last season, the franchise was in a similar position, well below .500 and struggling to know what to do to turn things around.

After the All-Star break they figured it out and went on one of the more memorable runs in recent team history. The addition of Thomas wouldn’t guarantee all of that, but it would get fans talking again. With Fultz struggling and D.J. Augustin regressing on what was a career year last season, fans would enjoy seeing somebody else steering the ship.

Who better than Thomas? While the Magic were going through their extended rebuild, Isaiah Thomas was one of the most electric and beloved players in the league. His performances with the Boston Celtics will go down in history, and the tough hand he was dealt while in the league (both on the court and personally) endears him to people even more.

Where better than Orlando to feel some of that love again? Magic fans don’t ask for much, only that you show up and try your best when on the court. It’s why Wesley Iwundu and Khem Birch are such popular figures, and why Augustin is thought of as a modern-day Jameer Nelson. Thomas, despite injuries hampering him, can play hard, and he is able to excite.

Thomas is grossly undersized at 5’9″ and is a liability defensively. In many places, Thomas would not get away with that, but he might be able to hide defensively on a solid Magic squad. Playing alongside Birch, a concrete wall in the paint, would allow Thomas to get away with some of the mistakes he is always going to give up because of his height and athleticism.

Thomas wouldn’t be asked to do much heavy lifting either, only come off the bench to score some, and be a positive influence on Fultz as he continues to grow. Who wouldn’t want that on their roster for the remainder of the regular season?

2. The Michael Carter-Williams Affect

At this point last year, the Magic picked up Michael Carter-Williams, to add some depth to their backcourt. Fultz had just been traded for, but he wouldn’t suit up until the beginning of this season. Isaiah Briscoe, who had played well when given the opportunity, was injured. That  created more of a need for somebody else.

Enter Carter-Williams, who despite having a limited offensive game, had played with coach Clifford in Charlotte with the Hornets previously. Right away he made a difference, providing the kind of kick off the bench that gave the whole team a boost. This wasn’t all because of Carter-Williams, guys like Birch made a difference too.

Orlando Magic

What’s to say Thomas couldn’t provide a similar spark this season? Mind you, Carter-Williams and Thomas couldn’t be any different as players. Carter-Williams is taller and longer than the average point guard, with little offensive game or 3-point shooting. His way of helping the team when he’s on the court is by providing the kind of defensive plays that inspire others to up their game.

Thomas, on the other hand, is smaller than everybody, and is a negative defensively. Where he excels, previously at an All-Star level and now in bursts, is as a crafty scorer off the bench.

Adding Thomas at this point isn’t guaranteed to work, but it is worth a try. To add to the similarities, Augustin is currently out with a knee injury, the same way Briscoe was last season, although he could be back in action by the end of the month.

Even so, Thomas would bring some excitement back, and he would be playing for a fan base that would really want to see him thrive. They have excellent defenders such as Birch and Aaron Gordon to mask his deficiencies, while a one-two game with Nikola Vucevic would be interesting from an offensive point of view.

1. His impact offensively

By far the main reason to bring in Thomas would be what he could do offensively for the Orlando Magic. If you’ve watched even a five-game sample from the team this season, any five games, you have seen plenty of horrible offensive possessions that go nowhere. It has cost them games. It has been ugly to watch.

The Magic have fourth-worst offensive rating so far this season at 105.5, and looking at some of their play you would think it was even worse than that. The opportunity was there to do something at the deadline, and Ennis III alone was not it.

Thomas being waived creates another opportunity for the Magic here. He is averaging 12.2 points per game this season in limited action. He is still only 30 years old. Players as small as he is typically begin to regress badly once they hit that age, but the Magic aren’t looking to him as a long-term answer to their problems.

If he can come in and bring some offensive juice to make sure they get to the playoffs, then his job here will be done. Keeping him beyond that would depend on a lot of other things happening in the summer, and really it doesn’t make sense anyway. Yet Thomas is shooting a red-hot 41.3 percent from deep this season, the best mark of his career so far.

He was doing so as part of a Wizards offensive unit that, despite having just Bradley Beal as their star, seemed to work well together. His 4.7 attempts from deep per game may be down on the 5.3 he is averaging for his career, but it is actually up on the 3.6 he attempted per game with the Denver Nuggets last season.

Could it be that Thomas is actually quietly having one of his better offensive seasons, but that he was just doing it on a team in the Wizards who weren’t up to much? Kind of like what Augustin did last year, but with the Magic making the playoffs this was highlighted more. Whatever it is, Isaiah Thomas could do a job for the Orlando Magic, and right now he’s waiting to check back into the game.