Isaiah Thomas Recovering From Hip Surgery

Roughly a week after undergoing surgery on his hip, which Isaiah Thomas described as "They scoped my hip and fixed my labrum," the Los Angeles Lakers' backup point guard gingerly walked around STAPLES Center with the assistance of a crutch.

Officially, Thomas' recovery time is listed as four months, which would mean the veteran point guard would still be rehabbing the injury when NBA free agency gets going in July. Thomas, of course, is a free agent, so the timing of his recovery and a medical evaluation may play a significant role in teams taking the leap and signing the 29-year-old Seattle native to a contract.

"I'll be healthy by then," Thomas insisted with a confident smirk when asked about whether he was targeting a full recovery by the start of NBA free agency.

Thomas insisted, "I should be fully recovered between three to four months."

At three months, Thomas would be healthy by the start of free agency. At four months, he'd be fighting for attention after teams had already spent the bulk of their money. However, based on his social media, the explosive point guard is already doing work on an exercise bike, and he confirmed that enough time had passed following surgery that he had started his rehabilitation process.

Thomas joined the Lakers via a mid-season trade that served to primarily free up salary cap space and also landed LA a draft pick. Thomas's arrival was celebrated as an expiring contract more than as an addition of an All-Star guard to the roster. Eventually, the point guard played 17 games with the purple and gold before suddenly leaving the team and opting for surgery.

"The decision I made just felt like it was the best decision for me personally, individually as a basketball player," Thomas explained that the soreness in his hip refused to subside, so he eventually opted to go under the knife after seeking medical advice from experts.

The former University of Washington Huskie also explained that he was thankful for his time with the Lakers and spoke highly of the players and the coaching staff.

"I think it was a success," Thomas said about his time in LA. "I came in here. I had nothing in my agenda, nothing in my plans. I just wanted to play basketball and get my joy back, and being the Lakers brought that joy back from having a tough couple months to coming here and having fun and Luke [Walton] saying 'We want you to be who you are,' to be around a good group of guys was also pretty good to end the season." 

Thomas added, "These guys are special. They're a special group of young group of talented guys. Coaching staff is special too. I thanked them for the opportunity. You never know what can happen."

Thomas has been around the NBA long enough to know that he may have played his final game for the Lakers and that the NBA is a cold business when it comes to making player personnel decisions. Specifically, Thomas played through his hip injury for the Boston Celtics only to have Boston turn around the trade the point guard in the same summer.

"No, I don't regret it because at that time, I was going through something way bigger than basketball," Thomas answered when asked if he regretted playing injured for Boston in the 2017 NBA playoffs. "So basketball was the only thing that could numb that at that point in time."

Thomas lost his sister in a car crash on Apr. 15, 2017 and opted to keep playing basketball, which he seemingly used as a distraction from the grief of losing a loved one.

Thomas added, "Basketball was the only thing to keep my mind off something so big."

Regardless of where Thomas ends up or when he recovers, his time with the Los Angeles Lakers should be considered a success for both sides. According to Thomas, he regained the joy of playing basketball and being part of a team. For the Lakers, Thomas provided ephemeral excitement in a season that never expected to land LA into the post season, while also providing veteran leadership that the Lakers desperately needed in the locker room and on the court.