Given how successful the Boston Celtics have been in the regular season, it’s only reasonable that the rumors are starting to fly out of control.
Isaiah Thomas, a former MVP contender and fan favorite, recently made the case for a reunion with the Cs, saying his guidance would help lead Boston to Banner 18. It was therefore “unlikely” Brad Stevens would bring Thomas back into the fold, according to Boston.com’s Kaley Brown, which was obviously a liberal understatement.
Following Thomas’ remarks, some fans and journalists started to plot his potential comeback. Gio Rivera of NESN provided some intriguing justification for why Boston ought to re-acquire the 35-year-old point guard.
“Now picture this: Thomas, with Tatum and Brown, showered with confetti at the end of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden,” Rivera said. “Coming full circle, is there a more fitting conclusion for Thomas’ NBA career? No, there isn’t, and if Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, gets Thomas the call he’s been waiting for for years, then that vision is absolutely feasible.”
It is best for the Boston Celtics to avoid Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas was a revelation in Boston during his 2.5 years there. People were drawn to his skill on the court and deeply cared for him off it because of his play, his perpetual smile, his stature, and the sad death of his sister.
Those were unique times that ought to be remembered with nostalgia. The fact that it was seven years ago is the issue
Since he last wore the green and white jersey, Thomas has also been a member of seven other teams. It was the third Lombardi Trophy that Patrick Mahomes has won; he had not yet played an NFL snap. It would be years before the global epidemic that closed down the entire world.
The rising star who could pack the stat sheet is no longer with us and hasn’t been for a while. Since having hip surgery, his scoring efficiency has drastically decreased, and his floor movement has changed. His defense was never strong, and as he grew older, it just became worse.It is undeniable that having Thomas around, especially as an advisor or assistant coach, would benefit the Celtics locker room due to his dazzling nature. He is currently not worth anything as a player. Though it wouldn’t make sense in real life, a fairytale comeback followed by lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy would make for a touching Lifetime film.
According to the current President of Basketball Operations of the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge never said “no” to Brad Stevens during his tenure as general manager. According to what Stevens told Heavy’s Steve Bulpett, Ainge would give Stevens the opportunity to try even if he believed the former Celtics head coach would fail.
“I learned a lot from Danny,” Bulpett was informed by Stevens. Danny is a wonderful person, but I think I learned the most from him than anything else was that he wasn’t always on board with everything I did. In fact, I think he said things like, ‘No, that probably won’t work.'” However, he consistently gave me the freedom to carry out my duties and was quite encouraging.
Ainge did well to trust Stevens given his track record with the team, even if they didn’t have a true win-now roster until the 2017–18 season, despite having made the postseason the previous three years and even making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017. It’s not difficult to draw a link between Stevens’ tenure as PBO and the significant chances he took, such as the trades of Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart this past offseason.
Like his coaching career thus far, there’s not much Celtics supporters can wish Stevens hadn’t done. If anything at all.
With Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens is passing forward the principles he learned from Danny Ainge.
Formerly the mentee, Stevens informed Bulpett that he is sharing his experience with current Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“I always thought that [Ainge] understood the difficulty of coaching at the end of the day. I am aware of how difficult coaching can be,” Stevens remarked. “I understand how Joe Mazzolla feels as the season progresses.
I’m aware of the highs and lows. I am aware of his worries. I am aware of his areas of excitement. I am aware of the team’s situation and am aware of how difficult it is for the coach. Danny did that for me every time, and I believe he did it for many others in the building as well. It’s a challenging act.
