Sacramento’s loss is Phoenix’s gain.
Instead of re-signing the diminutive 5’9″ Isaiah Thomas over the offseason, the Kings signed and traded him to the Suns, electing to roll with free agents Darren Collison and Ramon Sessions. This surprised some. Many, even.
Just not Thomas himself.
Said the point guard while speaking with Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy:
“Am I surprised Sacramento didn’t bring me back? People always ask that. Actually, I wasn’t. I always felt like they didn’t appreciate me as much as they should,” Thomas said. “I’m not saying the fans – the fans loved me and the city of Sacramento loved me. But it’s a business. They felt like they could get somebody better and I don’t blame them, that’s on them, and it’s their loss. I’m just going to continue to work hard, and worry about the Phoenix Suns. That’s what it’s about now. It’s not about Sacramento. It’s not about me not going back there. I wish them the best, and now it’s about being on the Phoenix Suns and making the playoffs.”
Put me in the “Totally not surprised, but not at all OK with what the Kings did” category.
After ranking in the bottom half of offensive efficiency last season, it’s understandable if the Kings didn’t want to overpay their current core. Investing big money in lottery teams isn’t typically good practice. Tethering years and tens of millions of dollars to a player who doesn’t quite fit the bill or isn’t productive can be detrimental.
But Thomas wasn’t unproductive, nor was he overpriced. The Suns nabbed him at four years and $27 million…with declining salaries. It makes little sense, then, that the Kings were ready to move like they did. The price was right and, more importantly, so was the player.
Luxury tax concerns creeped up at the beginning of free agency, but Thomas is the type of player you make room to retain. Yes, he’s small, and yes, he can be a defensive liability. But point guard is a pivotal position in today’s NBA. DeMarcus Cousins is probably the Kings’ best playmaker at this point. There’s a real chance he and Rudy Gay will be left to create a greater percentage of their own shots.
And perhaps that’s why the Kings let Thomas go in the end: too many offensive mouths to feed. Not only is there Gay and Cousins, but the Kings are trying to develop shooters Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore. Collison and Sessions, unlike Thomas, don’t demand a specific number of touches or play calls.
Whatever the case, Thomas is in Phoenix, alongside Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic, playing under Jeff Hornacek, preparing to compete for a postseason spot, moving forward as part of the league’s most dangerous point guard rotation.
He won.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
