Isaiah Thomas
2018 Stats: 15.6 points, 5.0 assists
Good deal: $30 million, two year deal with team option or $17 million, one year deal.
Both of these deals take away flexibility for the Suns to sign someone else this year, but Isaiah wants money. Hoops Hype lists his career earnings at $23 million, and the Suns will need to give him a nice contract. But it has to be a short deal for the Suns because they need an out if his hip continues to bug him.
Signing Thomas is a necessary risk for the Suns. He probably won’t turn into an MVP candidate, but he could be good enough to get the Suns into playoff contention. In many ways, he’s redundant with Knight: a score first point guard that plays bad defense. But Isaiah is a much better scorer. He proved it with Boston when he led them to the one seed in the East.
Thomas could flourish in Phoenix and get the Suns to the playoffs. He could also play like he did last season and offer little improvement while taking away flexibility.
The signing all depends on if the Suns can get a short deal and if they like his medicals after the hip injury.