Isaiah Thomas is trying to make his way back to the NBA by joining a team in the G League.
Thomas, 35, is expected to sign with the Jazz’s G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported.
A 2017 hip injury hampered the career of the two-time All-Star, and he struggled to land a contract after the 2019-20 season.
Thomas, an 11-year NBA veteran, had his best seasons with the Celtics from 2015-17 where he averaged 24.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists over his three seasons with Boston.
He had signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans during the 2020-21 season and appeared in three games during that stint.
The following season, Thomas bounced around, spending time briefly with the Lakers, Mavericks and Hornets.
His longest stay that season was with Charlotte, where he played 17 games and averaged 8.3 points while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from 3-point range.
He remained unsigned in 2022-23 and was not added to an NBA roster this season.
Thomas already has a connection to the Jazz organization in current team CEO Danny Ainge, who was an executive in Boston when Thomas had the best seasons of his career.
During that time, Thomas had two All-Star nods, an All-NBA second-team appearance and was part of a Celtics team that made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.
In an interview with Charania last May, Thomas said that he was feeling like his old self.
“I’m 100 percent back like I’m not gonna compare what I was five years ago when I was in Boston, but I feel that same way. Obviously, I haven’t played that much in the last few years, so there’s not much pounding on my body,” Thomas said.
“Anything that’s needed, I’m willing to do. I love the game of basketball. I want to continue my career in the NBA and that’s my ultimate goal,” he also said.
