Earlier this week, we explored the question: What’s next for Isaiah Thomas? The immediate answer is now clear: surgery. Thomas will undergo surgery on his injured right hip Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Lakers’ official Twitter account.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Isaiah Thomas will undergo arthroscopic surgery to his right hip tomorrow, it was announced today.
An update will be provided following the completion of the surgery. pic.twitter.com/uA7sN5cOSM
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 28, 2018
There is no established timetable for Thomas’ return, but judging by medical insight, he will not play again this season and may even miss some time at the start of next season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, AKA “Woj,” obtained a statement from the surgeon who will perform the operation, and Woj reports it will be a “minimally invasive procedure” that stems from the hip injury Thomas obtained while playing for the Boston Celtics in 2016-17.
In a statement received by ESPN on Isaiah Thomas, Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC says: “We will be doing a minimally invasive procedure to “clean up” the joint of all inflammatory debris related to his injury from last season.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 28, 2018
In the 2017 offseason, the Celtics dealt Thomas to Eastern Conference rival Cleveland in a deal centered on Kyrie Irving. Thomas didn’t fit in with the Cavs’ roster, and after a dramatic first half of the 2017-18 season, Cleveland unloaded Thomas at the trade deadline.
The veteran, 5-foot-9 guard had seemingly found his stride with Los Angeles. Though he still looked like a shell of his former self, Thomas had gotten his scoring average up to 14.7 points per game. He still struggled with his shot, hitting only 25.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
The bottom line: Thomas never looked right this season, and surgery was likely necessary all along. We’re hopeful he’s able to make a full recovery.
Thomas will be a free agent at the end of this season.
