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Barry Chin. Boston Globe. |
Wow wow wow what a way to get over Wednesday’s hump day slump. When I read this rumor, I didn’t think of the logistics, I didn’t think of the likelihood, I only thought: “This needs to happen.” The Pelicans didn’t resign Isaiah Thomas to a second 10-day contract after it concluded yesterday, and reporter Evan Massey just made my day. Just a few short hours ago, he tweeted that IT has received interest from multiple teams around the league including the Bucks, Heat, AND the Boston Celtics.
I don’t know about Massey’s reliability. I don’t know who his source is. I don’t know how serious the Celtics are about signing Thomas, or who they’d cut to make a roster spot for him. Quite frankly, I don’t care. As a Celtics fan, and a short king myself, Thomas is one of my favorite players of all time. I understand that he isn’t the All-Star player he was while he was in Boston. But he’s fun and I believe that he could provide something for the Celtics if we signed him.
The NBA deadline for bought out players to be playoff eligible is April 9th this season, but that doesn’t include players who are currently free agents, aka Isaiah Thomas. That means that the Celtics could cut one of their currently rostered players (aside from Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall who are on two-way contracts) and give a roster spot to Thomas, and he would still be eligible for the playoffs. IT4 in green for the playoffs? What’s not to love?!
In three games for the Pelicans, Thomas averaged 7.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 16 minutes per game. His shooting splits weren’t great, at only 33% from the field and 25% from three, but it makes sense to give IT some time to shake off the rust. On the Celtics, he wouldn’t need to be a consistent scorer, and instead could play some backup guard off the bench when the Celtics’ main scorers are struggling. It wouldn’t be great to roster two undersized point guards in Kemba Walker and IT, but the fan in me says ignore that part. It’s only a rumor, but a reunion with the Celtics only feels right.