Given all of the injuries he has racked up, Isaiah Thomas needs a Boston Celtics reunion ASAP
Any Boston Celtics fan should be melancholy by the most recent news of yet another injury for Isaiah Thomas. Sure, it is a thumb injury that shouldn’t keep him out beyond two months. But if the setbacks keep continuing, who knows how long the league will have his talents for…and how realistic a return to Beantown is.
It is well established that the Boston Celtics and Isaiah Thomas have unfinished business together. Danny Ainge broke up what had been a perfect union, but he can be the man that makes it all back after trading one of the most selfless men in the NBA for one of the most selfish.
In the two years since Thomas was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, injuries have been the main culprit for his descent from MVP consideration. He missed the first portion of the season with the Denver Nuggets in 2018-19 but found himself out of the rotation by season’s end.
Before that, his Los Angeles Lakers stint (one that featured flashes of the Thomas of old) was cut short by the same hip issues that plagued him at the end of his Boston Celtics run. After building a legacy in Boston of being the ultimate underdog MVP candidate that led his team to the top record in the East and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, Thomas has since become a tragic and cautionary tale.
Thomas played while injured during the 2017 playoffs. He famously didn’t take time to mourn his recently diseased sister but instead suited up for his Boston Celtics. When it comes to paying dues, Thomas paid the price of five men.
With this latest thumb injury, one that is expected to keep him out for 6-8 weeks, it feels like Thomas is inching closer to his basketball mortality. Thomas never got the chance to receive a life-changing contract. He was playing on a four-year, $32 million contract when he was an All-NBA second team guard. His hip troubles has left him signing minimum contracts the past two off-seasons.
Unlike DeMarcus Cousins, who doesn’t seem worthy of a team taking a gamble after his last two years, Thomas still has a professional basketball life left to live. Who knows? He could come back in mid-November and dominate the league as Bradley Beal‘s backcourt mate in a shallow Washington Wizards backcourt.
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Wherever he goes, the last chapter in his career just feels like Thomas in Boston Celtics green for one last should be written into it. Perhaps if he shines in his role on a rebuilding Wizards team and Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters fail to step up behind Kemba Walker in the point guard rotation, that chapter could be written in 2020.