With the trade deadline approaching, this is the silly season of NBA rumors. But no rumor has been crazier than this one: Isiah Thomas coming to the Clippers to become coach and general manager in the wake of Mike Dunleavy’s firing.
Clippers officials are emphatically denying it. Using phrases like “categorically false” and that the rumor was “DOA.” With dead serious expressions on their face.
This rumor really makes no sense, even in a Clippers world where sense can be relative. What does Clippers owner Donald Sterling want? To be competitive but not spend a lot of money (he splurged recently and his team is 26th in the league in payroll now). Thomas spent a fortune in New York and could not make the playoffs. Where exactly is the fit here?
Rumors can come from a lot of places, and are usually leaked by someone with a motive. Like, hypothetically, someone in the Thomas camp trying to keep his name in NBA circles and letting recruits think they can come to Florida International University and play for a guy going back to the NBA. Frankly, Thomas is more likely to get back into the NBA as a player then he is as a coach or GM.
Still, it is kind of fun to daydream about just how dysfunctional the Clippers could be with Thomas at the helm.