NBA Rumors: Isaiah Thomas Might Not Be Close To Signing With Orlando Magic After All
Little more than one year ago, Isaiah Thomas was fresh off a sensational season with the Boston Celtics, where he led the team with almost 29 points per game. Now it looks like the Orlando Magic might not be that eager to sign him, despite earlier rumors that the team was interested in acquiring his services and shoring up a need they had at the point guard position.
Although, previous reports had hinted that Isaiah Thomas and the Orlando Magic were close to coming to terms on a contract, as noted by Bleacher Report. The publications cited a tweet from Basketball Insiders’ Steve Kyler, who wrote that the Magic are “unlikely to move forward with a deal,” but might be willing to take a wait-and-see approach, much like they did last year before they signed shooting guard Jonathon Simmons as a free agent.
Orlando Sentinel reporter Josh Robbins suggested in a tweet that there weren’t any negotiations between both sides, to begin with. In his tweet, Robbins said that the Magic might have shown some interest in signing the 29-year-old point guard, but instead went ahead and acquired Jerian Grant via a three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets that also allowed them to acquire veteran center Timofey Mozgov. Grant averaged 8.4 points and 4.6 assists per game for the Bulls in the 2017-18 season as Kris Dunn’s backup at the point.
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According to Bleacher Report, there hasn’t been much interest in Isaiah Thomas in the current offseason, either from the Orlando Magic or from other teams. After a breakthrough 2016-17 season for the Boston Celtics, where he averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game, Thomas struggled with injuries in 2017-18, splitting only 32 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers and averaging just 15.2 points and 4.8 assists. Bleacher Report opined that Thomas specifically didn’t gel with the Cavs, who had acquired him for the 2017-18 season in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Celtics.
While Bleacher Report also posited that it might be hard for Isaiah Thomas to get long-term or high-paying deals in free agency due to the injury problems he faced last season, Hoops Hype wrote that he could fill a need for the Orlando Magic, which only had D.J. Augustin at point guard for the 2018-19 season prior to the Jerian Grant trade. Last season, the team traded Elfrid Payton to the Phoenix Suns for a second-round pick and waived Shelvin Mack once the season ended, leaving Augustin as the only returnee.
