According to Christopher Dempsey of Altitude Sports, Isaiah Thomas’ availability for training camp “remains in question”. Here is what Denver Nuggets President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly told Dempsey in regards to Thomas’ health:
“We’ll see. Like all of our guys, we want to be especially sensitive to Isaiah. I think he probably has rushed back (in the past). We want Isaiah to be right. So, he’s working his butt off a couple times a day with our guys. He’s getting better by the day. But we’re not trying to win the preseason. Whenever he’s ready, he’ll be out there and I’m sure he’ll be impactful.”
Thomas had arthroscopic hip surgery back in March and he is still recovering from the procedure. Even though Thomas may not be ready for training camp, a source has told Mile High Sports that he has been able to shoot for approximately a month and has had no setbacks. With the being said, Thomas still has not played with contact at this point. He has been rehabbing his hip, shooting, and strengthening his body throughout the summer. It makes sense for the Nuggets to take things slow with Thomas being that his hip has given him trouble for over a year.
Thomas will be asked to be shoulder the majority of the creation burden for the Nuggets bench unit this upcoming season now that Will Barton has taken up the starting small forward role. Getting Thomas ready for the regular season is more important than — as Connelly put it — trying to win the preseason. Expect the Nuggets to take things very slow with Thomas all the way through the preseason.
While Thomas continues to rehab, the immediate beneficiary will be newly-signed point guard Monte Morris, who was on a two-way contract with the Nuggets last year but signed a three-year deal worth $4.8 million. He will likely act as the backup point guard for the time being which could help him secure a spot in head coach Michael Malone’s regular season rotation so long as he has a strong preseason. Morris was one of the better players in the entirety of Las Vegas Summer League and sources tell Mile High Sports that he has essentially lived in the gym this offseason. From the moment that the 2017-18 season ended, Morris has been working to improve his game.