The Celtics would be interested in swinging a deal for Suns guard Isaiah Thomas if Phoenix puts him on the block, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports. Boston’s president of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, was the first NBA executive to reach out to Thomas when he became a free agent last summer, according to Blakely, but Thomas wound up going to the Suns in a sign-and-trade deal with the Kings. If Thomas joins the Celtics, he would be used as a sparkplug off the bench behind rookie point guard Marcus Smart, Blakely opines.
In other Celtics news:
- Marcus Thornton and Brandon Bass are the players most likely to be dealt if the Celtics move anyone off their current roster, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. Both have expiring contracts and could help a contender down the stretch but three unnamed GMs that Himmelsbach interviewed had varied opinions of what the Celtics could get for either player. Boston does have an open roster spot if it chooses to add a player because it declined to sign Andre Dawkins for the remainder of the season after his second 10-day contract expired.
- The Celtics are unlikely to make a blockbuster trade before the deadline, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. They are more likely to seek additional assets in order to make a major move in the off-season, Forsberg adds. Boston has the ability to absorb as much as $13MM in exchange for draft picks or young players and could do so as a third-party facilitator for teams unable to match salaries in a proposed deal, according to Forsberg.
- The Celtics management was unanimous in the decision to trade Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks in December, according to Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. Ainge revealed to Thomsen in an extensive interview that it would have been difficult to give Rondo a max contract when he hit the free agent market this summer because of his shooting and defensive shortcomings. Ainge added in the same interview that even a max offer might not have prevented Rondo from signing with the Knicks or Lakers, who are starved for a point guard to pair with stars Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant, respectively.