11:05am: Thomas won’t actually spend any time in the G League, according to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Nuggets are in Philadelphia and had intended to get Thomas some practice time with the Delaware Blue Coats, but he’ll remain with the NBA club for now due to a “lack of healthy bodies,” tweets T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports.
10:23am: Nuggets point guard Isaiah Thomas appears to be moving closer to getting back on the court, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Denver has sent Thomas to the G League for a rehab assignment.
The Nuggets don’t have a G League club of their own, so they’ll have to assign Thomas to another NBA team’s affiliate. Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link) hears that Thomas has joined the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League squad. In fact, the 30-year-old has already been assigned and recalled, tweets Johnson.
Thomas, who signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Nuggets last summer, has spent the season recovering from hip surgery. A recent report suggested that Denver was optimistic the veteran guard would return before the All-Star break, though head coach Michael Malone stressed that there was no set timeline for Thomas’ return.
A brief rehab assignment in the G League, where teams practice more frequently, has become common for veterans recovering from injuries. The Nets, for instance, assigned Caris LeVert to their NBAGL affiliate earlier this week in advance of his impending return. In Thomas’ case, given his eight years of NBA experience, he would have had to approve the assignment.
While Thomas’ return appears close, it will be interesting to see how he slots into Denver’s rotation. Monte Morris and Malik Beasley have enjoyed breakout years for the Nuggets, which may limit the minutes available to Thomas in a backcourt that also features Jamal Murray and Gary Harris.
Hard to imagine that Timofey Mozgov made more in 2 years than IT in his entire career.
Man I really hope this guy can come back. Big fan of him and it’s a shame how this has all played out the last two seasons.
Hope he stays in Delaware.
Pretty sure the Brinks Truck doesn’t stop at the G league.
His career is over. Hasn’t done a thing in 3 years. Sad for him but just the way it is
??? In 2016-17 he dropped 29 points a night and obviously had a rough 17-18 but everyone seems to have lost track of how relatively short it’s been since he was a stud. 3 years ago Al Horford was a Hawk
There is going to be some money this summer. He should get something if he is healthy.
He is a smart player, if not smart in the regular sense. Hip problems are kind of an unknown though.
What about Denver? They’ve been mixing and matching all year, which has allowed them to incorporate different players into different roles, but at what point are there too many cooks in the kitchen? I have to think adding a big personality who wants a lot of dribbles will be impactful, positive or negative. Unfortunately at this stage I think it’s negative.