Johnson is committed to Ball starting for the Lakers, but does want Thomas to play «a lot of minutes.»
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The Los Angeles Lakers have something of a point guard problem. The team has its entrenched starter in Lonzo Ball, who is universally regarded as the potential face of the franchise, even as he has worked through some issues during his rookie campaign and is currently out with an injury.
On Thursday, the team acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade, and while he has had his own issues this season, he is still a year removed from being one of the best point guards in the NBA. In most circumstances, he is the kind of guy who would come in and be given the reigns without a second thought.
Thomas’ agent also expressed that the veteran has zero intention of coming off the bench. ESPN’s Rachel Nichols read a text from Aaron Goodwin which read, in all caps, “HE IS NOT COMING OFF THE BENCH,” which is as clear-cut of a message as you can send.
The bad news for Thomas and Goodwin is that Magic Johnson is still in Los Angeles, and he’s still 100 percent invested in developing Ball. Johnson met with the media on Thursday afternoon and expressed that the starting point guard job still belongs to Ball, even if he does expect that Thomas will get a ton of run.
