Isaiah Thomas asks not to be honored on Paul Pierce's night

I'd like to thank the Celtics for their gracious offer to play a video tribute on Feb 11th celebrating my 3yrs in Boston. But since it appears this has caused some controversy w/ Paul Pierce's night I'd ask the Celtics instead to focus all of their attention on #34's career.

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) January 17, 2018

Isaiah Thomas, that guy who played for the Boston Celtics after losing his sister in an auto accident, smashing his teeth in, after getting surgery and on a bum hip to boot - gives a shit about what Boston fans think.

Shocker, that.

Let me explain. After being unceremoniously traded away by Danny Ainge this summer for Kyrie Irving, something of a rift opened between IT and Ainge - and some of the certain segment of Boston fans I can't quite feel the vibe of (a nice way to say it).

And then Danny and he made up, and Ainge wanted to give the man the recognition he deserves with a video tribute next time he comes to town. Turns out, that was a game he wasn't quite ready for, and a lot of people decided to read IT's mind (though, as was noted by some readers, he did throw shade at the now- departed medical staff) about what his real motive was for asking for that tribute to be delayed.

LISTEN: Danny Ainge tells @Toucherandrich the Isaiah Thomas-Paul Pierce situation will be resolved this week https://t.co/pLwq2e9eXF

— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) January 11, 2018

Danny thought it was wise to shift it to February 11th, Isaiah's next game against Boston, so he'd have time for his family to make it together and see him play. One problem, though -

...it was already Paul Pierce's night.

Don't get me wrong - Paul went through everything Thomas did and then some - and brought home a ring for good measure. He deserves his night, to himself - end of story. But for those among us who thought ill of Isaiah, I ask you to take a step back and consider the bigger picture -  in an age of cold-hearted moves like he found himself on the receiving end of, IT continues to put the Celtics' fans and players interests at the forefront of his decisions, much like another legendary Celtics point guard we lost today, Jo Jo White.

Classy. Remember not to blame Isaiah for this "controversy". His camp politely asked if it was possible to postpone the tribute, and Boston officials said yes without consulting Pierce first. https://t.co/IgnxZUq67h

— Matt Chin (@MattChinNBA) January 17, 2018

While IT may not hold a candle to either Paul or Jo Jo, he was cut from the same cloth, even if they used less of it. Let's let bygones be bygones, and welcome this rapprochement - and IT - back into the fold.

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Image: CavsNation
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