Isaiah speaks! And he is sad

It's been a rough month for Isaiah Thomas. After being heartlessly traded to his arch-rival, his name was then dragged through the mud, his future was doubted, and his worth was questioned by just about everyone in the country. And he had been silent about all of it. Until now!


His wife posted some pictures of him in his new town, and man, does he look miserable! Do you see what I see? That smile is see-through! It's your typical forced-grin for a picture, like every time you go on vacation and your aunts need 82 photos of you doing mundane things. You give them a smile because they asked for it, but it's not a real one. It's not sincere, and that's exactly what is happening here with Isaiah. There's no real happiness anywhere in sight! He's a shell of his former self; just so bummed that there's no green in his new locker room.

And to make matters worse, this trade has forced him to change jersey numbers! Rip to IT4. Everyone say hello to the new IT3. Ew. I hate it. I think I just got Carpel Tunnel Syndrome from typing it out. My fingers hate me, and I'm having a really hard time saying it out loud. I feel like Jim Carrey in Liar Liar when he can't tell a fib. My tongue is taking control. I no longer decide which words come out of my mouth. IT-thr...four. I can't do it, it's such a gross nickname. Long live IT4!

The worst part of this post might be the picture of him at the Cleveland Clinic Courts practice facility. It's so empty. There's no one there playing with him. It seems as though no one even showed up to welcome him to Cleveland. He has no friends in his new town. The other students at school are pointing at him and calling him the 'new kid,' and I can feel his discomfort from here. Poor little guy. (One of the things I'll miss most about IT is having Tommy Heinsohn call him, "The Little Guy!!!")

And to top all of this misfortune off, every time he steps onto a Cavalier basketball court, he has to look up and see those pathetic participation banners that they have in the rafters. You'd never see a Division Champs banner hanging in Boston, which is what Isaiah loved about the city! We're champions. You come to Boston to win, and there are no excuses for not winning. Isaiah embodied that attitude, and now he has to deal with a culture that is perfectly content with coming in second place. It's going to be a tough transition for our guy.


Then last night, he posted this video for all of the haters. He's trying to put on a tough guise, but this video is absolutely seeping with sorrow. He mentioned the trade, like he's over it and has moved on; It has clips of talk-show people talking about him, like it doesn't piss him off that his future is being contemplated by bozos in a radio booth. He wants us to think that he's over all of this trade hooplah, but he's not, and his recent Player's Tribune article proves that point to a tee.

Was that Player's Tribune piece written by James Joyce? It was absolutely beautifully written. It sounded like a hundred harps being played from heaven, sent down for all Boston Celtics' fans to hear. Or Brennan Huff singing Por Ti Volare at the fucking Catalina Wine Mixer. Just absolutely stunning.

But seriously that piece that Isaiah wrote was sad as hell. I didn't cry, per se, but my eyes got watery and I got that feeling in the back of my throat that aches every time I'm sad. Okay, so what, maybe I cried a little. Leave me alone.

You can find an entire, Celtics' Life breakdown of Isaiah's Tribune article here. Check it out. And follow me on twitter: OWaukewan.

Photo: USA Today
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