He’s dirty
When Isaiah Thomas returned from injury to begin his short career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it took him three games, (THREE!) to show his true colors – and they weren’t wine and gold.
In a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Andrew Wiggins drove into the lane right by Thomas. Obviously frustrated (potentially for a number of reasons), Thomas took an open-palmed swipe at Wiggins, effectively clotheslining him with a hard swing at Wiggins’ throat.
The play was probably the dirtiest play in the NBA since the retirement of either Dennis Rodman or Kevin Garnett, rewarding Thomas with a Flagrant 2 and ejection – although he somehow managed to escape the incident without a suspension.
The play itself was enough to turn me off as a fan, but what really irks me is his “defense” after the game. He LIED about the purpose of the play claiming he went for the ball and that he wanted to make sure that Wiggins wasn’t hurt.
You can see the video above. He never made an attempt at the ball, he looked entirely emotionless in the immediate aftermath, and his attempt to help Wiggins up and offer his apology was a master class lesson in how TO look guilty when doing something wrong.
I know it’s only one incident in his career, and is it speculated that the reason he wasn’t suspended was because he was a one-time offender, but that move was punk. It was a total crap move, and I don’t care how many players are frustrated in their careers or even in a particular game, no one does that, so when someone actually does, it’s a total turnoff.
Conclusion
In the end, I just do not see Isaiah Thomas a fit on any level with the Phoenix Suns. He was already here and nearly burned the franchise down; his age plus cost don’t make a ton of sense; that play against Wiggins was absolutely dirty and in my mind is a career-long red flag; and while point guard is a desperate position of need that needs upgrading, the money spent would be better well spent on a player in the front court where the roster is truly lagging, or on a number of veteran players who will fill far more holes than even just one player.
Next: Isaiah Thomas is WORTH the risk
Thomas is an above average scorer and a good overall point guard. I don’t want him in the Western Conference potentially tearing the Suns up and would be much happier with him migrating back to the East. He is just not a fit for the Suns now, and looking back on it, probably never has been.