The season of Los Angeles Lakers star isaiah thomas has come to a merciful end. According to reports, the guard will be forced to undergo surgery to correct a problem that has lingered since last season. Another report suggests that the surgery will end Thomas' season. Even if it didn't, the Lakers would've probably held him out as a precautionary measure, with the playoffs way out of reach for the proud franchise.
Now, Thomas can finally focus on getting his body right.
Thomas under the knife
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report Thomas' impending surgery on Wednesday afternoon.
The guard will undergo a scope on his hip this Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. The procedure is said to be minimally invasive and simply an opportunity to clean up some lingering problems stemming from rehabilitation from the hip injury he sustained at the end of last season.
Isaiah Thomas (hip surgery) will not play again this season, Luke Walton said.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) March 28, 2018
The surgery will almost certainly have an impact on the guard's future riches -- Thomas is slated to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. ESPN's report suggested, however, that the Lakers may be interested in keeping the guard around next season. The team's top priority on the free agent market is to lure a star (a la Paul George) to the team.
If that fails, however, the franchise may be interested in staying the ship for another year, until another major free agent class hits the open market.
Lost season for Thomas
This has been an extremely challenging calendar year for the diminutive guard. After emerging as a star for the Boston Celtics last season, he lost his sister in a terrible accident during the postseason.
His return to the court was highly emotional, but he could not overcome the hip injury that had been nagging him. After being ruled out for the rest of the playoffs, Thomas was in for the real shock of his offseason, as he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, only for it to nearly fall apart over the injury.
Thomas missed the first couple of months of the season and never truly jelled with the team upon his return.
So the Cavs dealt him again, this time to the Lakers, where he displayed some his trademark swagger on the court. He only managed to play in 17 games for his new team, though, averaging 15.6 points and five assists per game over that time.
Whether or not his tenure with the team is over remains to be seen, but Thomas' time on the court this season is almost certainly at an end.
