Fresh off signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Denver Nuggets, Isaiah Thomas sat down with ESPN to talk about the current status of his career ahead of the next season. Rising until a hip injury pulled him out of the season following the 2017 NBA playoffs, Thomas only now admits that playing the playoffs with his injury was a mistake.
"If I didn't play in the playoffs, I'd be OK," Thomas admitted. "I'd be getting paid. I'd be who I am—who I was. But you couldn't tell me in that moment in time—with everything I was going through—that, OK, I should just sit out. I don't think Boston went about it the right way as well." Around the time, Thomas was mourning the loss of his sister, Chyna Thomas, who died in a car crash last April.
"But at the same time, it was hard for me to sit out," he explained. "I just lost my sister, one of the closest people in my life. Basketball was the only thing that was going to help me out. I played until I literally couldn't play anymore. And that was not a good business decision if I was looking in the long term, but I was looking in the 'right now.' That's just what it was. They probably would've traded me anyway. But I would've been in position to show my worth, and last year I was never in position to show my worth."
After missing seven months last season, Thomas returned earlier this year in January. He does, however, say that was a "mistake" and that he should have "waited until after the All-Star Break." He's currently near the end of his four-month recovery period for his arthroscopic surgical procedure, and will be ready for training around late September time.
