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Getty Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have multiple roster spots to fill following their flurry of trades before the February 10 deadline.
As such, speculation has begun to arise about who the Celtics could target as potential additions off the buyout market. One name everybody should get used to seeing is former Brooklyn Nets wing DeAndre’ Bembry, who found himself entering free agency following the arrival of Ben Simmons and Seth Curry.
Yet, former Celtics coach, Evan Turner, thinks Boston should look closer to home for their next roster addition. At least, that was the way most people interpreted the player-turned-coach’s recent Tweet.
Of course, Turner could simply have been sharing his ideal target for one of the Celtics’ open roster spots. Or, maybe he has the inside track about who Boston is looking to add in the coming days. At this point, nobody outside of the franchises’ front office knows the answer, but it’s certainly fun trying to figure it out.
Brad Stevens Spoke on Isaiah Thomas Recently
President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens, recently addressed the notion of bringing Isaiah Thomas back to Boston, as he answered a range of questions surrounding the team’s current roster construction.
“We’ll assess if 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 meet the needs of our team. There are all kinds of discussions that go on, but that does not change anything about how I feel about Isaiah, regardless of what we decide,” Stevens said, “I love Isaiah. I’ve talked to Isaiah ever since he left. He’s just a special guy, he’s a special person, and I understand why everybody feels that way (about bringing him back).”
Stevens coached Thomas during his time as head coach and presided over the veteran guards’ best years as a professional basketball player. The pair also tasted considerable success together, with Boston embarking on numerous conference finals runs during their time together.
Thomas Has Struggled Since Leaving Boston
As we all know, Thomas didn’t leave the Celtics by choice. Instead, he was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the trade that saw Kyrie Irving begin his ill-fated time in green. However, Thomas was carrying a hip injury prior to being traded, and never found his footing alongside LeBron James in Cleveland.
Since then, Thomas has bounced around the league, notably spending two short spells with the Los Angeles Lakers, with his most recent time with the purple and gold being earlier in the 2021-22 NBA season.
Thomas also spent some time with the Dallas Mavericks this season but managed just one appearance. You see, despite his reputation as instant offense off the bench, and his impressive numbers in non-NBA competition, Thomas has been limited to 10-day contracts and hardship exceptions for the last two seasons.
We may all remember the good times, and the “King of the Fourth” but it would seem that Thomas is now an end-of-bench guy, and for a Celtics team that is desperate for contributors – specifically shooters, bringing their former guard back to the team doesn’t project to be smart business.
Source: Heavy
