Golden State Warriors: 3 undervalued MLE targets

By Tony Pesta | Oct 7, 2020

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 14: T.J. McConnell #9 of Indiana Pacers battles with Meyers Leonard #6 of Miami Heat during the second half of a NBA basketball game at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 14, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis - Pool/Getty Images) /

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3. Isaiah Thomas

On the surface, signing Isaiah Thomas looks like an extremely risky move for the Golden State Warriors. It has been years since Thomas was an effective scorer – and his downside as a defender would hinder the team regardless of how he performs on offense.

Isaiah Thomas had a hip resurfacing procedure five months ago: “It's like night and day for me," Thomas tells ESPN. "There's no more pain. I've got my full range of motion. For three years, I was trying to play the best players in the world on one leg.” https://t.co/FjuilQoZbu
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 5, 2020

However, Thomas is apparently back on track. He has been battling a hip injury for three seasons – finally having a full surgery to fix him up. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Thomas says his game is ‘night and day’ different compared to before.

Last season, Thomas averaged 12.2 points on 40.8 percent shooting. This is a big drop off from his MVP caliber season in 2017 when he scored close to 30 points per game. It’s important to note that this is the last time he was healthy.

Could Thomas have success as a spark plug off the bench for Golden State? If he is healthy, he would be one of the best scorers a second unit has to offer. The concern is, will his size make him too much of a liability with the Warriors already looking weaker on defense.

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