4 Reasons The Celtics Should Trade Number 4
Don’t crucify me, Boston Celtics fans because I know what you all are thinking reading this article. Yes, the Boston Celtics should trade their All-Star and second team all NBA Point Guard Isaiah Thomas and I am going to explain why. Thomas is one of the best players in the NBA and certainly this season has to show for it, but the ultimate goal is adding to the 17 championships that the Celtics franchise holds and the 5’9 point guard being your best player will never be enough to dethrone LeBron James in the east and eventually compete for an NBA title.
1. The Celtics Play Better Defense With IT Off The Court
Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart are plus defenders and give the Celtics a much bigger and stronger lineup to guard the opposition’s best players. Bradley and Smart have always been known for their defense, and with the latter developing a better jump shot, the Celtics could have a formidable backcourt in the coming years.
2. Thomas Is Not a Young Gun
Isaiah Thomas will also be on the wrong side of 30 starting next year. And making the All-NBA team this past season makes him eligible for the new super max deal that will surpass 200 million dollars. Do you really want to pay that much coinage to player who will be 30 years old, is a ball dominant point guard, 5’9, and can’t play defense?
3. The Draft
He gets a mean bucket, hell yes, but Thomas runs down the shot clock and doesn’t really make other players around him better. The C’s have the number one pick in this year’s draft. That most likely means University of Washington point guard Markelle Fultz. Fultz is already much bigger than Thomas being listed at 6’5 and has a 7 foot wingspan. Fultz is clearly the best player in the draft and can score from all three levels at a very efficient rate. The DeMatha and UW product has been rumored to be the top choice for the Celtics and adding a dynamic young point guard who has all the makings of being an NBA star will be too good to pass up. Fultz along with Bradley and/or Smart could make up for the lack of size that IT possesses plus still implementing the beautiful effective ball movement that the Celtics displayed in Game 5 without Thomas in the ECF. Fultz will and does make players around him better as well as will be on a very favorable Rookie contract. Fultz’s presence will be felt as a rookie and he has all the makeup to be the next leader of the Boston Celtics franchise.
4. They Have Money to Blow in Free Agency
The Boston Celtics also have ample cap room this summer and their eyes will be on current Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward. Hayward did not make the All NBA team making it certain that he will opt out of his current deal and become an unrestricted free agent. The Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was Hayward’s head coach in college and the two have been rumored to have strong mutual interest. The Celtics need another star who can get them 20 plus points a night and will make a seamless transition into the Celtics offense. Plus when facing the Cavs you need as many stars as possible (hence the Warriors). Adding Hayward along with the number one pick (most likely Fultz) and keeping the rest of the team intact has the writing on the wall for Thomas. A Fultz, Hayward, Horford combo plus the rest of the Celtics deep roster will be an impressive group to take down King James and the Cavaliers.
Thomas is a great player no doubt, but the Celtics simply cannot win with him being the best player on that roster. His age and the amount of money he will be owed will get the Celtics right back to the ECF where the Cavs will dismantle them again and having the Celtics wondering why they paid Thomas the supermax to get to the same spot. Trading Thomas will not only help for next season, but in the future. With having Fultz running the show as well as the rest of the young athletic roster with the big possibility of adding another all-star in the offseason will be to enticing for the Celtics and could lead to a run on Championships. Isaiah Thomas is and incredible talent, but with all the negatives against him it’s time for the Celtics to look in a new direction to add to the franchises greatness.