LeBron James is ready to start playing with Isaiah Thomas.
Though the 5’9″ point guard has become something of a forgotten commodity from the Kyrie Irving trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers know what they have in him—James included. Thomas has no timetable for his return from a hip injury, but he and James have, per Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, started developing a rapport:
“(The relationship is) growing everyday. It’s growing everyday,” James said. “Obviously seeing the ‘slow grind’ that he’s going through right now, which he calls it, it’s good to get out there and get some work with him as well. So, I can’t wait to get him out there.”
Things start to get interesting once Thomas returns. The Cavaliers have to figure out what they’re doing with Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, but mostly, they’ll get to see whether they’re actually better off on the heels of Irving’s exit.
Thomas has been better than Irving over the past two seasons. That’s a fact. Those previous efforts wouldn’t have been sustainable even if he was healthy from the jump, but if Thomas is, say, 75 percent of the player he was with the Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers have themselves a near-lateral move from Irving on the offensive end. That’s a huge deal when you consider they also landed Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick in the deal.
Yes, Thomas has to get healthy first. And then he needs to regain his footing. Even after that, he’s not necessarily a long-term solution. He’ll enter free agency this summer and cost a boatload to retain—money the Cavaliers may not be willing to pay if LeBron doesn’t guarantee his return.
But maybe Thomas is a part of swaying The King. Maybe he plays so well, upping the Cavaliers’ playoff appeal so much, James warms up to the idea of the organization being able to straddle two timelines—one tailored to LeBron’s prime, the other to his twilight, when he’s perhaps ready to take a step back. We don’t know. But we do know James is ready to get him on the floor, for obvious reasons.
