As it stands right now, the Boston Celtics have four open roster spots: three standard, and one two-way slot to fill. Many C’s fans keep daydreaming about the day Isaiah Thomas comes home.
We are nearly five years removed from the last time IT4 laced up for the Celts. It was the summer of 2017 and the brinks truck never backed up for the former All-Star and he would be traded to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving.
Many other moving pieces were in that deal, but nothing was more heartbreaking than losing the heartbeat of the team. Thomas gave it all for the Celtics during his time including playing through the death of his sister, hip ailment, and broken teeth.
It was one of the greatest individual playoffs run in recent Boston Celtics history, the five-foot-nine guard averaged 23.3 points and 6.7 assists per game which included a historic 53-point extravaganza vs Washington.
Now, with a slew of open roster spots to fill, Brad Stevens must humor the possibility of retaining the services of the former Celtic superstar.
Do not get me wrong, Isaiah is obviously not the same 29 point scoring MVP candidate that he once was, but there are many enticing ways his presence could impact the squad.
So far this season, we’ve seen spend time playing the USA basketball team, a brief G-League stint, and a couple 10 day contracts with both the Lakers and Mavericks.
The ‘King of the fourth’ has not had much sticking power, but maybe a renewed marriage with Boston just makes perfect sense for each side.
Here are three reasons why the Boston Celtics will sign Isaiah Thomas.
Reason #1: Boston Celtics PBO Brad Stevens’ recent Isaiah Thomas comments
You do not have to go too far to find the recent quotes about how much Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens enjoyed having Isaiah Thomas here.
A recent sit-down on the Toucher and Rich show with Stevens stirred up much speculation about the All-Star’s potential return to Beantown.
When broached on the subject of signing Isaiah, Stevens replied, “I love Isaiah. I’ve talked to Isaiah ever since he left.”
Stevens added more admiration saying, “He’s a special guy, he’s a special person, and I understand why everybody feels that way.”
This is to the response of us Celtics fans wanting the king of the fourth back in Boston. We can only read so much into these comments, but given the situation of the C’s needed to add the end of the bench depth.
A former 6MOY candidate only makes sense. One thing we know is Isaiah can still give anyone in this league a bucket. Given the Celtics’ past bench scoring woes from this season, I wholeheartedly believe we see IT at least get a 10-day tryout.
Boston, after the most recent acquisitions, is left with a hollow bench devoid of much experience. Players that know what it takes to play and win at the NBA level.
Isaiah Thomas’ Boston Celtics tenure was encapsulated with leading very underdog-style teams that consistently made the playoffs year in and year out.
I stand by the sentiment that these comments mean a great deal given the context of the current roster.
With all these roster spots we should hire Oprah to hand them out. You get a roster spot and you get a roster spot, everybody gets a roster spot!
Reason #2: A veteran leader in the Boston Celtics locker room
The 33-year-old holds a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience that should be poured out onto our younger Boston Celtics.
Imagine what Isaiah Thomas could do for the likes of a young stud like Payton Pritchard. Teaching him how to be an actual floor general and being a mentor for him.
This would similar to the ways Robert Williams and Grant Williams have each benefited from Al Horford’s leadership on and off the courts.
Outside of Marcus Smart and Al Horford, this Cs team severely lacks experience and leadership. It is only more glaring in the wake of trading away Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder, and Enes Freedom.
These were most likely three of the louder voices in the locker room. I cannot speak to how they led the team, but guys like Pritchard, Nesmith, Hauser, and Kornet are going to have experience growth on the fly with potentially more minutes coming at them.
Even if Thomas does not log more than 10-15 minutes a game, he can still impact the culture of the team going forward and promote a winning attitude.
Brad Stevens ended up being a heavy buyer this trade deadline and made win-now moves to improve the roster for a deep playoff run. Why not continue to invest in what the Cs can be this year?
The shamrocks have won nine of their last ten games as of this writing and they are not slowing down.
Reason #3: Isaiah Thomas to the Boston Celtics is a good publicity stunt
Boston Celtics fans everywhere would give their left arm to see Isaiah Thomas wearing green and white again. Now, there is a pathway to making this fantasy a reality without physical dismemberment.
The addition of IT would simply increase ratings for Celtics games, and put butts in seats. The games would sell out for the chance to see the little guy dawn a jersey for the C’s once more. Much like “Linsanity” in New York, Dwyane Wade returning to Miami, or even Allen Iverson coming back to Philly, this would be a great decision from a publicity standpoint.
I’m hoping it would evolve beyond a publicity stunt but at this point anything to get IT4 in the door. We could start him on a 10-day contract and see how the dating stage goes.
If the two parties still like each other, then we can talk about a longer-length engagement. Thomas loves playing the sport of basketball and loves the city of Boston.
The city has not forgotten about the legacy Isaiah left behind. He came in from Phoenix as a sixth man and immediately became the guy the Cs built around for the next four seasons.
The level of impact was undeniable and the reason why we even have something referred to as the Isaiah Thomas era in Boston.
He carried our rebuilding efforts and was the heartbeat and soul of those gritty Celts teams with the likes of Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and even Jonas Jerebko.
I truly will go on the record saying the former Celtics PG has a strained relationship with Danny Ainge, not Brad Stevens. If it was up to our current gm at the time, IT would still be here in some capacity.