Dead horse, meat the Houdini’s fists. With Isaiah Thomas signing with the Los Angeles Lakers and making his 2021-22 debut with a team other than the Boston Celtics–this is his second stint with the Lakers, making it five uniforms he has worn since being traded–the only question we have is…
Why?
Why is Thomas not back with the team he single-handedly revitalized after it appeared Boston was headed for a period of rebuilding, something Cs fans have feared since the dark days of the 1990s?
Well, Marcus Smart’s recent reaction to the IT news produced a quote most certainly worth highlighting:
Marcus Smart is excited for Isaiah Thomas to be making his Lakers debut right now, but said he wishes it was with the Celtics. Asked him if he tried to get Stevens to sign him, said he did but "there's only so much I could do."
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 18, 2021
‘There’s only so much I can do’ is a strange quote coming from the longest tenured member of the team. Does this quote indicate that Smart simply doesn’t have pull (which is highly unlikely) or that something is going on behind the scenes preventing the expulsion of the TD Garden roof due to a crowd that won’t quit cheering their faces off?
The Boston Celtics front office must continue to lack Isaiah Thomas interest
It made sense why Danny Ainge didn’t want to negotiate with Thomas after trading him away under the circumstances he did. IT had soldiered through a difficult playoff run due to both injuries and the tragic loss of his sister before Ainge directly replaced him with Kyrie Irving. Those scars are deep.
But President of Basketball Operations had a huge hand in raising Thomas’ profile and turning him into an MVP candidate, and thus, transforming Boston into an overnight contender in 2016 and 2017.
Given what Thomas showed in the G-League showcase and the current point guard situation, which primarily includes a likely imminent Dennis Schroder trade and little else on the established floor general front at the moment, a reunion made sense at this point in time.
But here we are, again, watching Thomas’ comeback story unfold elsewhere. Perhaps it’s the organization not looking to outshine the current core, or maybe his tests back in 2017 scared the team off altogether.
Either way, watching the years go by without an IT-Celtics reunion obviously makes it less likely it will ever happen…and that makes the Houdini infinitely sad.