Brad Stevens still loves Isaiah Thomas like all other Bostonians, he recently talked about the point guard’s chances of making it to the open roster spots.
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Isaiah Thomas‘ iconic stature in the Boston Celtics is as high as any of the biggest stars in franchise history. One of the most fan-favorite ballers just played two years with the Cs but left an impression of a lifetime.
Those Celtics had little to no chance on paper against the reigning champions Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 Playoffs, but IT, carrying a hip injury, gave his everything. He also played through the unexpected death of his sister, traveling cross country to balance funeral arrangements with playoff games.
But after C’s lost the first two games he aggravated his injury and didn’t play the remainder of that series. Those would sadly be his last games in the Boston uniform.
In an infamous deal of 2017, that brought Kyrie Irving to the Celtics, IT was sent to Cleveland with league-wide criticism of Boston’s ruthless management.
Brad Stevens was Boston’s head coach throughout the 2x All-Star’s stay in TD Garden, he apparently loved the point guard. Having some roster spots open currently, he was asked about the 33-year-old recently.
Brad Stevens still loves Isaiah Thomas
The president of basketball operations for the Celtics, in a recent appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich program, talked a little about his love for Thomas and his chances of making it to the 5 open roster spots created after the recent trade deadline on February 10th.
“I love Isaiah,” said Stevens, who made it clear he wasn’t going to speak in-depth about the team’s plans on the radio. “I’ve talked to Isaiah ever since he left.
Brad Stevens on @Toucherandrich about potentially adding Isaiah Thomas: “I love Isaiah. I have talked with him often since he left. I don’t want to get into much beyond what we need to do today. We’ll assess what our needs are and go from there.”
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 11, 2022
During his time playing for Stevens, Thomas averaged 24.7 points and 6.0 assists. In the 2016-17 season, IT averaged 28.7 points and became only the 6th Celtics player ever to score over 2,000 points in a season.
But since then the guard was moving around in the league for years struggling with some injuries. Having been a free agent for more than a year, he recently got a chance to play basketball again with the Lakers and the Mavericks after the league allowed teams to sign players on a 10-day contract amid the COVID-19 problem.
“We brought in some guys that really know how to play, that can really accentuate our guys, but also have a strong understanding of who they are and what they bring to the table. So we’ll assess, we need to add a veteran leader, or do we need to add young guys that haven’t made it yet that are on … good, long contracts to add and meet the needs of our team. There’s all kinds of discussions that go on, but that does not change anything about how I feel about Isaiah, regardless of what we decide.”
During his two years with the Celtics, IT enjoyed some of the best basketball of his career while earning his only 2 All-Star appearances. He also became a fan favorite in Boston because of his will, determination, and leadership. Stevens said he understands why Celtics nation would love to see him return.
“He’s just a special guy, he’s a special person, and I understand why everybody feels that way,” Stevens said, “so, that’s my answer to that.”
