Isaiah Thomas believed he was a max contract player who deserved some loyalty from the Boston Celtics before he was traded, but his hip injury combined with a bad situation in Cleveland may have helped to put things in perspective for the star point guard.
Thomas, who was traded to the Cavaliers as part of the blockbuster Kyrie Irving deal last summer, appeared in just 15 games with Cleveland before being traded again. He played in another 17 with the Los Angeles Lakers, starting just one of them. Overall, Thomas averaged 15.2 points per game last season — roughly half of his scoring output the year prior with the Celtics.
Now, Thomas remains a free agent more than a week after players started agreeing to deals with teams. While his feelings were clearly hurt with the way things ended in Boston, he indicated on Tuesday that he would be open to a reunion.
Isaiah Thomas trying to engineer his way back to Boston?
(From @NBCSBoston) pic.twitter.com/pCU6kUZTR0
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) July 11, 2018
It’s tough to tell through an Instagram comment if Thomas was being sarcastic, but he may not have many options. He certainly isn’t going to get anything close to a max contract, and the Celtics appear to be set at point guard with Irving starting and both Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart likely to return.
At this point, Thomas is wise to keep all of his options open. The 29-year-old probably needs the Celtics a lot more than they would need him, which is why he might be willing to put his differences with the organization aside.
