After a wild summer that saw him sent from the Celtics to the conference-rival Cavaliers, Isaiah Thomas tells Lee Jenkins of SI.com that 2017 has been the best year of his career, but the worst year of his life. Thomas posted historic regular season numbers and was the unquestioned leader of a Boston team that won two playoff series in the spring, but a hip injury sidelined him toward the end of the postseason, and he has had to adjust to a new team and city while recovering from that injury.
Thomas, who is expected to be sidelined through at least the end of December, admits to Jenkins that he made his hip injury worse by playing in the postseason. However, the standout point guard remains confident that he can make a full recovery, and the Cavaliers share that view much more than they did when they first acquired him, says Jenkins. For his part, Thomas says he intends to play until he’s 40.
While Jenkins’ in-depth feature on the former Kings, Suns, and Celtics guard is worth reading in full, here are a few more quotes of interest from Thomas:
On his reaction to the blockbuster deal that sent him to Cleveland:
“None of it made any sense. It still doesn’t make any sense. I’m still asking, ‘What the hell happened?’ It’s a trade you make in NBA2K. It’s not a trade you make in real life.”
On whether he’s seeking revenge on the Celtics after their decision to trade him:
“Boston is going to be all love, [but] I might not ever talk to Danny [Ainge] again. That might not happen. I’ll talk to everybody else. But what he did, knowing everything I went through, you don’t do that, bro. That’s not right. I’m not saying eff you. But every team in this situation comes out a year or two later and says, ‘We made a mistake.’ That’s what they’ll say, too.”
On not rushing back from his hip injury to get in the Cavs’ lineup:
“The nice thing about the Cavs is nobody is in a rush. Most places are trying to get you back, which isn’t always best for you. These guys know they’re going to play in June. It’s a given.”
He is bitter. Normal reaction…his big pay day is no longer a given. His Brinks truck probably scared Ainge. At his age and size, he is not worth the money he expects. He is all heart and fun to watch, but it’s a business….not a game. His hip injury raises the risk for any team that signs him. He might hate Ainge, but KI is better.
It may be what strAinge told IT personally, behind closed doors. Promises etc. Perhaps strAinge was not honest?
This was my thought as well
You’re very clever scGary. But your thought is strictly conjecture scGary. Perhaps IT is not being completely honest.
Sorry mighty midget,,,, mistake not made,,, you’ve got to give up talent to get talent and Kyrie is going to be better for BeanTown than you can be, just be lucky you didn’t get traded to a losing franchise.
He probably wanted the max and the Celtics were never gonna give him the max so Danny helped him out by trading him to a team that can
I love IT. I love what he brought to the table both from tangible and intangible. But we don’t have a clue if he’s ever going to be the same player again and, if he’s not, a year from now you could be sitting there with no viable point guard. Ainge made a tough deal at the right time. I think he gave up too much by not making the pick Top 3 protected, but I’m guessing Cleveland wouldn’t have done the deal if there were limitations.