Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Will Remove Isaiah Thomas From Rotation

In last year’s NBA offseason, Isaiah Thomas was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thomas was the heart and soul of the team and gave his absolute all for the franchise. The fan favorite identified with the Celtics like almost no other player has since Paul Pierce, and even played through injuries and personal tragedies.

Then, after coming back from injury, the Cavs-Thomas relationship only lasted 15 games. After a quick stop in Los Angeles, Thomas now is with the Denver Nuggets. But it doesn’t seem he’ll be there for too long.

After basically just coming back from his injury, he’s about to lose his spot in the team’s rotation again.

Having watched plenty of Nuggets games this season, I can only say that it’s the best thing for the team. Denver signed IT as a sixth man, something that didn’t work out as intended, mainly due to Thomas still thinking he’s a top tier point guard. He was playing hero ball, jacking up shots, not looking for his teammates and had bad decision making. All that on top of him being a general liability on defense ever since he came into the league.

I also understand that people blame this personal development of Thomas on Danny Ainge and how they first played an injured Thomas, to then get rid of him.

Nuggets head coach Mike Malone had a conversation with Thomas, explaining him why he won’t be part of the rotation anymore. Via The Athletic.

“You definitely talk to him, and I will keep that conversation between myself and IT. Not an easy conversation, but that’s my job. It’s never about Isaiah or any individual. It’s about what’s best for our team. I made the decision to shorten the rotation, only play eight guys in the first quarter, and I’m going to continue to do that for the time being. Sixteen games to go, I’m trying to find a rhythm and a rotation that I feel like will give us the best chance to win now and into the playoffs.”