A VOCAL VETERAN
Isaiah Thomas joins the team
Would Wilt Chamberlain be as effective playing in the 1990s against the likes of Shaquille O’neal and Hakeem Olajuwon as he was when he dominated the NBA in the 1960s?
As far as NBA debates go, this one is about as cliché as arguing whether Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time, but that hasn’t stopped Isaiah Thomas from igniting the Nuggets’ locker room in heated discussions.
“My argument was, yeah, I think (Chamberlain would be),” rookie Jarred Vanderbilt said. “(Isaiah) said he’d just be average. That’s been one of the main arguments.”
Every day, it’s something new. And with coach Michael Malone’s office just down the hall from the locker room, he hears it constantly. But this is what he wanted. He coached Thomas for a season in Sacramento and wanted the former MVP candidate to join him in Denver as he enters the final year of his contract to help lead a team that hasn’t been shy about its playoffsorbust mentality.
If Thomas’ leadership also brings temporary divisiveness — and a nickname no point guard wants a part of, “Stephen A. Smith” — so be it.
“I said if Klay Thompson was the No. 1 option on the team, he’d average 25plus points per game,” said Thomas, punching his fist in his palm in disbelief that anyone would think otherwise as he recalled his latest debate. “I’m not going to name names, but somebody said he’d only average 18. Klay Thompson is the secondbest shooting guard in the NBA behind James Harden. Somebody said he wasn’t!
“I’m arguing with guys that really haven’t played in the NBA. The other day, I was in here for an extra hourandahalf arguing with these guys and I almost got in trouble with my wife because I was here too long.”
A vocal veteran leader is perhaps what the Nuggets missed most the past two seasons when they missed the playoffs by one game each year. They haven’t had one. They brought in $90 million free agent Paul Millsap last year, but he reiterated this week that he leads by example, not words. Thomas will be a nice yin to his yang.
Everything Thomas says and does is by design. That was clear in Cleveland last year when he told local media he wanted to play where he was wanted after being booed by Cavaliers fans at Quicken Loans Arena. (He was traded to Los Angeles the next day.)
When he mentions arguing with teammates who have almost no NBA experience, he’s pointing out he’s a needed veteran on the NBA’S thirdyoungest roster and has played in more games than Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Torrey Craig have combined. And when he starts those debates, he’s trying to figure out where the Nuggets’ passion lies.
Getting his teammates to stop being so “quiet” is his job. That’s it. Malone has told Thomas repeatedly that Murray is his starting point guard, and the only thing changing that is an injury to the thirdyear player out of Kentucky. Thomas is learning to accept the idea of not being “the man” despite averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists with Boston in 201617 en route to finishing fifth in MVP voting.
A career reset to play more of a supporting role than star is what he signed up for when he agreed to a veteran minimum salary of $2.029 million, earning him less this season than every teammate other than Vanderbilt and Monte Morris. At the same time, Thomas is 29 years old and his contract with the Nuggets is only for one year. Factor in his nagging hip injury that has him sidelined in training camp and more limited minutes when he is healthy and, come next summer, his value on the open market could be compressed.
“This was a unique situation where we needed I.T. and he needed us,” Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas said. “We need what he was two years ago and he needs us because he’s getting healthy and finally playing without pain.
“I think his year will be (his tryout for all NBA teams). For him and for us, we’re going to get the best Isaiah. He’s working extremely hard to get healthy. Even if we get only a fraction of what Isaiah was two years ago … I think it’s low risk for us.”
Thomas recognizes how critical his performance is in a contract year. Last season, after being traded from Boston to Cleveland to Los Angeles, his scoring output was nearly cut in half (15.2 ppg), his Real Plusminus of minus4.23 ranked 95th among NBA point guards according to ESPN and he averaged careerworst marks in shooting percentage (.373) and turnovers (3.0) in 32 games and only 15 starts.
This season has to be better for his sake, but if the Nuggets’ plan is to have him come off the bench like he did with the Lakers, it’s worth questioning how much of a leap he can take.
All he can do this year as a bench player is “be Isaiah Thomas,” and first and foremost that means scoring in droves on the NBA’S sixthmost prolific offense.
“At the end of the day, I’m human, so at times it does affect me,” Thomas said of him returning to a bench role. “I have feelings just like everybody else. I feel like I’ve paid my dues more than a few times, but this is just my story. Ev ery step of the way, every year I’ve had — I had an allstar year and I had to prove myself the next year; I averaged 30 points a game and I still had to prove myself. I can only worry about the things I can control, and that’s when I’m on the floor — be the best player on the floor and make it hard for coach to take me out of the game.”
Off the court? He has to be loud. Millsap saw it when the two competed against each other in the Eastern Conference and advocated that Thomas has no problem raising his voice — wherever he might be.
That’s why he’s here. He wants to take the last shot — “I’m going to take it” — and he needs that next contract. But the Nuggets are desperately seeking a leader to help them end a sixyear playoff drought, even if that means damaging egos of anyone who thinks Wilt Chamberlain was better than Thomas believes he was.
“It might rub people the wrong way — the way I lead,” Thomas said. “I know how to win. I haven’t won an NBA championship, but I know how to win basketball games and get to the playoffs.”
And to that, there’s no debate.
“This was a unique situation where we needed I.T. and he needed us. We need what he was two years ago and he needs us because he’s getting healthy and finally playing without pain.” Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas