Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas could return Wednesday vs. Sacramento

Nearly a year after a hip procedure that has kept him sidelined, guard Isaiah Thomas could make his debut with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, league sources told ESPN.

Thomas, who was upgraded to questionable for the Nuggets game against Sacramento in Denver, will make a determination about playing earlier in the day on Wednesday, league sources said. Thomas practiced five-on-five again on Tuesday with the Nuggets.

Thomas, 29, would be making his first appearance with a Nuggets (38-15) team that is currently within 2.5 games of first place Golden State in the West, and employing a bevy of talented guards, including Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Malik Beasley, Will Barton and Monte Morris. Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game for the Boston Celtics in 2016-17, a second-team All-NBA season that appeared to be clearing the way for a long-term, $100 million contract.

Nevertheless, an injury on the same right hip that cut short his playoffs in 2017 and cost him eight months of rehab, and a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer, upended his hopes for that kind of long-term deal. Thomas joined the Los Angeles Lakers last season as part of a trade-deadline deal with Cleveland, where he played only 15 games in 2017-18.

With the Lakers, Thomas played in 17 games and mostly came off the bench, averaging 15.6 points and 5.0 assists.

He signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Nuggets in July.