After the Clippers released Isaiah Thomas after he was traded from Washington during the trade deadline, it leaves many people wondering whether or not Thomas will ever see the NBA again after being shipped from team to team over the past few years.

Thomas has been riddled by injuries since his well-known hip injury during the 2017 playoffs with his tenure on the Celtics. But although he does not play at the same high caliber level that he once did in Boston, the man can still play the game of basketball. He is a weapon on the offensive end and can provide buckets from all over the floor.

During the offseason, Thomas signed with the Washington Wizards after being misused by the Denver Nuggets a season ago. With John Wall still recovering from his injury, Thomas was granted the starting role per Scott Brooks. In his short time in D.C., Thomas averages 12.2 points per game with 3.7 assist. Although the Wizards were not where they wanted to be, many believed that Thomas was a great compliment alongside Bradley Beal who has been having a career year all season.

It was obvious that Thomas was a shell of what he used to be, but he atleast competed to help his team win. Even with Thomas being a liability on the defensive end due to his small frame, he always made up for it by being an X factor on offense and it showed during his time in Washington. Now that it is over for the 9 year man, Thomas is currently a free agent and there are a couple of teams who could use Thomas to provide energy for their team whether it is in the starting lineup of off the bench.

One team that could use Thomas could be the Lakers. With poor production out of their backup PG in Rondo, it looks as if they could use another veteran who can make something happen when LeBron is on the bench.

When Thomas played for the Lakers in 2018 after being traded, he played solid for the purple and gold averaging 15.6 points off the bench. We know his first stint with LeBron was not great but in this go round it may be a different story. Now that Darren Collison has decided not to make a return to the NBA, many will expect Thomas to get a phone call soon from Rob Pelinka.

Another team that could use Thomas could be the Philadelphia 76ers. This team needs a guy in the locker room who can bring toughness to this squad. Yes, Thomas is small but he is a tough guy and he never allows anything to get in the way of him.

As far as playing with this Philadelphia squad, maybe there could be an experiment of putting Thomas in the lineup next to Ben Simmons. With Simmons’ high IQ for the game, he and Thomas could fit well together by setting him up for good looks on the perimeter and being a force on the offensive end.

It wouldn’t hurt for Elton Brand to pick up the phone due to how inconsistent Philly has looked all season long. Maybe this could be something that we will see in the future as well.

It is also said that maybe Thomas would possibly have a reunion in the city he loves the most, Boston. There would be no question that this Celtics team welcome him back with open arms to help them push for a title.

Thomas could be a great asset off the bench with guys in Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter, and other great role players that play in green. It wouldn’t hurt for Boston to pick him up for the remainder of the season. Thomas could potentially re-live his times of being the guy that took this Celtics team to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.

The media and others will try to say that Thomas is not a valuable player in the NBA anymore. But that is a false narrative that has went around for too long. When put in the right position to be successful, Thomas can light up the floor for the team and can even be the leading factor to a team’s victory.

As the season winds down and playoff time is approaching, hopefully Isaiah Thomas will see the NBA floor again and prove to the world that he belongs in the association and should never be overlooked as a talented player.