Height with shoes is a stupid stat. Yes I know that nobody plays basketball barefoot, but there's no standard so it's an inaccurate way to compare one player to another. Just look at their barefoot height:
Isaiah Thomas is 5'8.75" while Darren Collison and Ray McCallum are both 6'0.25". Add another inch or so to all of them to get their playing height. According to their measurements, when Isaiah Thomas puts his arm straight up in the air it's 5 inches shorter than either Collison or McCallum doing the same. That's just the simple fact of the matter. Average PG height seems to be creeping up lately with so many bigger guards playing the position now. That makes both Collison and McCallum on the short side and Isaiah obviously on the extreme end. Yes it is a factor on the defensive end, but I think it gets oversold around here at times. It certainly hasn't hindered Thomas very much on the offensive end. But there's no reason to fudge the numbers one way or another to make a point. As I've said before, I don't care all that much that Thomas is 5'10" in shoes. The reason I don't want him back is because he shoots too much and seems to carry with him an air of entitlement about his ability to do so. And because I don't think scoring is nearly as important as team defense and an awareness of who your teammates are and how to make them better, I'm lukewarm on Thomas' overall abilities as a starter.
Oh yeah, and that 5'11" stat is bunk. Don't know what was in the water the day that measurement was made, but unless you believe Isaiah plays in 2" heels it should be obvious that there was extreme fudging going on to get that stat. Not that extreme fudging with prospects measurements isn't common-place in the NBA.