The Indiana Pacers could regret not signing Isaiah Thomas to fill PG void

With TJ McConnell sidelined for much of the season and Malcolm Brogdon currently on one of his scattered absences, the Indiana Pacers badly need help at the point guard position. Given their lack of capable bodies to man the role, they could eventually regret not considering signing Isaiah Thomas on the interim.

The two-time All-Star made his glorious return from a lengthy sabbatical from the big league, hopping from the G-League to the Los Angeles Lakers and scoring 19 points in his debut against Minnesota. Forget the naysayers—despite his obvious weaknesses, Thomas is a bona fide scorer and playmaker who could give any team in need of a scoring boost a lift, even in spurts.

Now, the Pacers have Brad Wanamaker as the only true point guard on the roster currently. If Brogdon’s absence is once again extended, a big possibility in light of precedence, Indiana could be in for a nightmarish stretch to end the calendar year.

With their main floor generals sidelined, the Indiana Pacers should have considered bringing Isaiah Thomas aboard

That the Indiana Pacers opted to tender the third-string point guard role to Wanamaker gives off the premise that the team had utmost belief in Malcolm Brogdon to dish out an immaculate bill of health. No offense to the 32-year-old, but both the eye test and the numbers will agree with me when I say that he hasn’t been affective at all for the most part so far.

The Blue and Gold has compensated for the meantime by funneling the offense through Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert, but expecting your proxies to hold up for 48 minutes is not tenable. After all, both players are much better off as secondary playmakers.

Isaiah Thomas is certainly far from a messianic solution on the short-term, but his scoring prowess and ability to set up in the half court are far superior to Wanamaker’s. He’s pretty exploitable on defense and is not the most efficient, but his tenacity on driving to the rack and reliable outside shot keep defenses honest.

Conversely, Wanamaker, aside from his hit-and-miss passing, is almost negligible as a scorer. His 38.5 percent shooting overall and 25 percent rate from downtown makes him a complete liability without the ball in his hands, allowing defenders to double down on the Pacers’ more dangerous threats like LeVert and Sabonis.

With Indiana starting to round into their typical injury-prone form, having a viable cast of reserves is key. The team has some reliable cogs off the bench, but the point guard position is simply lacking a punch.

Eventually, if the Isaiah Thomas-Lakers matrimony comes to a halt sooner than expected, the Indiana Pacers should consider giving the veteran s hot to man the backup point guard role.