It’s safe to say that Isaiah Thomas hasn’t performed up to his standards this season.

Shockingly traded away from the Boston Celtics in a preseason trade that involved Kyrie Irving, Thomas’ ability to command a maximum contract in the summer of 2018 when he hits free agency essentially evaporated.

Devolving from the go-to star in Boston to a mere complementary piece alongside LeBron James in Cleveland didn't sit well with IT. After he missed the first few months of the season, it was obvious that Thomas and his new teammates didn’t mesh. He was dealt to the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers after just 15 games played. With the Cavs, he averaged 14.7 points on 36.1 percent shooting as well as 4.5 assists in 27.1 minutes.

In Los Angeles, he has appeared in 17 games and has recorded just one start, taking on the role of the sixth man. Overall, he’s put up 15.6 points on 38.3 percent shooting along with 5.0 assists per game. Taking a backseat due to the team’s youth movement, the diminutive veteran has failed to make an impact that even rivals the explosive offensive player that he was on the Celtics last season.

Judging solely by the eye test, it seems like Thomas’ first step has been a bit slower than it was last season and he hasn't seemed to have the same type of blow-by speed. That’s most likely because his hip still hasn't fully healed.

The Lakers recently announced that Thomas would undergo arthroscopic surgery on the hip. On Thursday, he went through a successful surgery and a timeline for his recovery was announced.

According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, Thomas will be sidelined for four months as a result, effectively ending his season.

The procedure was reportedly meant to "clean up the joint of all inflammatory debris related to his injury from last season," Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York told ESPN.

According to Youngmisuk, Thomas will spend time between his offseason home in Seattle and Los Angeles while rehabbing the hip over the next few months, and the Lakers have told Thomas that he’s welcome to use the team's practice facility throughout the process.

It’s obvious that the franchise has a lot of respect for Thomas, who they’ve already expressed interest in re-signing.

"[Thomas] never complained," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "Every time I asked him how he was feeling, he said, 'I feel great coach.' Obviously, he was in some pain and had some discomfort. I didn't know about it because he was always saying how good he felt. He really helped our team with obviously the way he can score the ball, but the things that does from a point guard position where he was constantly telling guys where to be, how to set the screen, where to set the screen, which is valuable for young players. I was very pleased with the time that he spent with us.”

Walton continued, ”The team's agenda always came first and he never complained about it once ... him and Julius [Randle] had a nice connection going. I loved the banter between him and [Kyle Kuzma] out there on the floor. He was great. You go down the line, he affected all the guys that played minutes for us, the young guys.”

"He has been a really good leader for us," teammate Brandon Ingram said. "He has kind of been our vocal guy going into every single game, every single day, giving us pieces of advice how to be better every single day and our mindset going into every single day.”

Thomas’ future is completely unknown, but if he expects to return to the MVP-caliber player he once was, he will need to be fully healthy. If this surgery accomplishes that goal, it will definitely be worth it in the long-run.

Listen HERE to the first episode of the new GiveMeSport NBA podcast, featuring former Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin.

Enjoy, and please subscribe for all future episodes.