Warriors to bring in free agent guard Isaiah Thomas for workout
The quest to fill their vacant 15th roster spot is still ongoing at the Warriors headquarters. But it doesn’t seem like the Golden State front office is in any hurry to do so, at least not at this moment.
That hasn’t stopped the team from essentially trying out several free agent point guards over the past month. The latest guard to be linked to the Warriors is Isaiah Thomas, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported early Thursday morning.
The invite isn’t surprising as we’ve heard time and time again now, even directly from Bob Myers, that the team is looking to add additional depth at the guard position. In the event that the team’s leader, Stephen Curry, or back-up guard, Jordan Poole were to miss time on the court, they would need another ball handler to fill in.
Thomas, now 32 years old, has only played in 55 games over the previous three NBA seasons with the Nuggets, Wizards, and Pelicans. Thomas suffered from hip problems for a number of years before finally having surgery to resolve the issue in May of last year.
The two-time all-star most recently worked out for the Lakers and Mavericks in hopes of getting himself back onto an NBA court to prove he still has what it takes.
While Thomas likely still has the offensive firepower needed to score on a regular basis at the NBA level, the question that remains is how well he moves on the defensive end, and if he will be a liability on that side of the floor or not. The Warriors will have a chance to see first-hand next week.
Anthony Slater of the Athletic most recently noted that Golden State’s current plan is to keep the 15th roster spot vacant and to be competed for during training camp, which is set to begin in a few weeks.
If that’s the case then Gary Payton II and Mychal Mulder would likely be competing for the spot along with whomever the Warriors invite to training camp at that point guard position. Whether it be Thomas, Darren Collison, or Ryan Arcidiacono, who both recently worked out for the Warriors, or another name who agrees to a camp invite, it sounds like there will be fierce competition to grab that coveted NBA roster spot.