On December 25, Beijing time, the Lakers have officially announced two signings, and they are both backcourt players. This makes people worry about the future of Thomas Jr. in the team, inspirational, Thomas Jr. did not give up, he continued to motivate himself in social media.
The Lakers' two new signings are Collison and Stanley Johnson. In particular, the arrival of Collison became Thomas Jr.'s biggest rival. The 32-year-old Collison averaged 12.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.2 steals in his career, and in 2018-19, he played in 76 games for the Pacers, averaging 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.4 steals, and 40.7% three-point shooting, before suddenly announcing his retirement. In fact, at that time, Collison was in a fairly good market and was expected to get a contract with an annual salary of tens of millions.
With the arrival of Collison, the Lakers' backcourt is already overcrowded. Thomas Jr. has doubled the competitive pressure, and he currently plays in four games for the team, averaging 9.3 points, 2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, but only shooting 22.7% from three-point range and 30.8% from the field.
In the past two games, Thomas Jr. is in a slump, losing to the Suns and scoring 3 points on 11 shooting. In the last game, he scored 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting. It is worth mentioning that in the past two games, Thomas Jr. has made a total of 9 three-point shots of 0.
However, Thomas Jr. did not give up. He tweeted on an update, "I always feel great after leaving the gym after a good workout. "Yes, Thomas Jr. is still training hard, and I hope that this time he can change his fate and get a regular contract.