IT appreciation thread...Thanks for the memories

[FlatearthZorro]

The East remembers Isaiah. I still love you and wish you the best. Not against us of course.

[GreenBloodedC]

IT will always be one of the most beloved Celtics. Difficult feat in just 2 years time.

Thank you, IT!

[soxfan2003]

Perhaps the best article I have read on the Player's Tribune. Even though the article like others on that site was probably used a ghost writer, I suspect it did a great job at accurately capturing his sentiments. And the end of that article is right... I suspect many young kids in and out of the Boston area became Celtics fans because of IT. I know a few of them. Great player to watch play and have ordinary people identify with.

I wish him good luck with the Cavs. Of all of the top teams in basketball with the possible exception of SAS after Manu finally decides to retire, I feel as though the Cavs may be the best fit for IT.

[return2glory]

I remember watching IT play when he was with the Kings. I kept thinking man, this guy can play. I rather have him than Rondo any day. He was playing like an all star at the time. He just kept getting better. At one point, he put up 20 and 6 for the Kings during his last season there.

When Ainge traded for him, I was so happy. I knew right away that he would make the Celtics a lot better. The Suns at the time had 3 really good PGs with Bledsoe, Thomas and Dragic. That had no idea what they were doing with their roster.

When Thomas came to Boston, I knew he would be a starter again like in his Kings days in no time. I knew he would start playing at an all star level, especially after hearing Ainge telling him that he has a chance to be a Celtic legend.

Thomas, in his short time here became just that, a Celtic legend. He played better than I expected. He kept on getting better and better. He also played with a lot of passion and heart and made the Celtics relevant again. It was easy to route for Thomas. He became one of my favorite Celtic players of all time. Not to mention, he had the best offensive year for a Celtic player since Larry Bird.

What a player. Thank you IT!

[cloverleaf]

IT was great here, despite the Brinks truck slippers and other similar BS.

And though his "letter" was indulgent--he sure wouldn't have liked it better if Danny had simply said, "I traded you, goodbye" and hung up the phone--I was with him until he tried to make it sound like owners being able to trade players was some sort of great civil rights injustice still to be rectified.

The dude has been paid $10s of millions of dollars in his 20s for being an entertainer. One aspect of signing such deals--whether you are black or white or anything else--in most major pro sports leagues is that you can be "traded" so as to make the entertainment a better and more popular product for its customers.

Lots of entertainers the world over have to travel or move in order to make the big (or little) bucks, and the idea that this is somehow tragically unfair is IMO pathetic. Worst case, his congenital hip issue will wind down his career having made in the 10s of millions instead of crossing over into the hundreds of millions. Unfortunate, but really nothing compared to the situation of the other almost 8 million humans on the planet.

[DarkAzcura]

IT was great here, despite the Brinks truck slippers and other similar BS.

And though his "letter" was indulgent--he sure wouldn't have liked it better if Danny had simply said, "I traded you, goodbye" and hung up the phone--I was with him until he tried to make it sound like owners being able to trade players was some sort of great civil rights injustice still to be rectified.

The dude has been paid $10s of millions of dollars in his 20s for being an entertainer. One aspect of signing such deals--whether you are black or white or anything else--in most major pro sports leagues is that you can be "traded" so as to make the entertainment a better and more popular product for its customers.

Lots of entertainers the world over have to travel or move in order to make the big (or little) bucks, and the idea that this is somehow tragically unfair is IMO pathetic. Worst case, his congenital hip issue will wind down his career having made in the 10s of millions instead of crossing over into the hundreds of millions. Unfortunate, but really nothing compared to the situation of the other almost 8 million humans on the planet.

His point wasn't as much as it being an injustice as it was about fan's treatment. His point was that it makes no sense to be okay with whatever the owner does but than hate on players for taking ownership of their own career.

[24istheLAW]

I remember watching IT play when he was with the Kings. I kept thinking man, this guy can play. I rather have him than Rondo any day. He was playing like an all star at the time. He just kept getting better. At one point, he put up 20 and 6 for the Kings during his last season there.

When Ainge traded for him, I was so happy. I knew right away that he would make the Celtics a lot better. The Suns at the time had 3 really good PGs with Bledsoe, Thomas and Dragic. That had no idea what they were doing with their roster.

When Thomas came to Boston, I knew he would be a starter again like in his Kings days in no time. I knew he would start playing at an all star level, especially after hearing Ainge telling him that he has a chance to be a Celtic legend.

Thomas, in his short time here became just that, a Celtic legend. He played better than I expected. He kept on getting better and better. He also played with a lot of passion and heart and made the Celtics relevant again. It was easy to route for Thomas. He became one of my favorite Celtic players of all time. Not to mention, he had the best offensive year for a Celtic player since Larry Bird.

What a player. Thank you IT!

Remember how Pogue Mahone in particular used to always beat the drum that Isaiah Thomas in Sacramento is the exact same player as overrated Kyrie Irving? That was one of his cause celebres. Now we've traded him for Kyrie Irving.

[Slax]

Perhaps the best article I have read on the Player's Tribune. Even though the article like others on that site was probably used a ghost writer, I suspect it did a great job at accurately capturing his sentiments. And the end of that article is right... I suspect many young kids in and out of the Boston area became Celtics fans because of IT. I know a few of them. Great player to watch play and have ordinary people identify with.

I wish him good luck with the Cavs. Of all of the top teams in basketball with the possible exception of SAS after Manu finally decides to retire, I feel as though the Cavs may be the best fit for IT.

Hey I 100% agree with you, and would like to use your post as a jumping point to defend ghostwriters. A lot of people seem to mistakenly view ghostwritten pieces as inauthentic or fake, and I would argue exactly the opposite. The job of a good ghostwriter is to understand the sentiment and intent of the client, and to come up with words that accurately convey the story the client is trying to tell, instead of the raw words coming out of the client's mouth. IT is a pro basketball player, not a professional writer or editor, so we shouldn't expect him to have the same capacity to organize his very real and authentic thoughts into a cohesive essay that gives him the voice he deserves. The words may be from a ghostwriter, but the anecdotes and sentiments within all sound like IT's and match with everything we already know about him. Superb piece of writing.

[OFWGKTA]

One thing I'm pretty sure of, I don't think I'll struggle to not put Kyrie over Pierce as my favorite Celtic of all time.

[VeryMuchWoke]

Anyway you slice it, it was a gutless move by Danny. The dude helped recruit Hayward weeks prior. He was a big time fan favorite, who left his heart out on the court. His did wonders for the organization. Without him, Brad might have yet to coach a playoff game... Heck, the NCAA return rumors would be loud and clear at this point after a 4th straight lottery season. Gutless in every sense of the word. Not to mention trading Avery. The young dude we developed from day 1.

But at the end of the day, being gutless is part of the job. Lakers traded Shaq. Bulls traded Pippen. Heat let Wade walk. Raps traded Vince. Pierce and KG were traded. Tough decisions need to be made. The great GM's don't fear making them. No doubt in my mind that Brad cosigned this deal, and both guys feel it makes us a better team in the long run... Maybe not next season, but 2-4 years from now.

Vince quit on the Raptors and demanded a trade. Shaq demanded a trade.

What the Celtics did to Isaiah Thomas is shamefully disloyal - even by the standards in professional sports.

Enjoy your "loyal", mediocre, never-going-to-win-championship franchise. I'll stick with the Celtics.

[Solid750]

Good riddance.

Yep, see you in 12 hours. No need for that here. Canman.

And it's good to be back howdy

[Captain_Caveman]

Never thought he was a guy to build around, and definitely don't assign the same worth to what he meant to this rebuild that many here do, but really appreciate what a gamer he is. Best of luck to him.

[truth18]

howdy

Spoiler:

[Jakeopp]

Good riddance.

Yep, see you in 12 hours. No need for that here. Canman.

And it's good to be back howdy

Best 12 hours in Celtics realGM history

[ConstableGeneva]

We got a good coach y'all.

Read on Twitter

[reggielewis]

Loved the article- my heart hurts for him and as a fan for the fact that he wanted to be here. But it is a business and next summer, he could have walked and left us trying t find a point guard. My guess though is that next summer, he would've taken a bit less especially if he is out till Feb because other teams would have been wary, but that is not what this trade was about. This trade was about the now and the future and getting a core in place for the long term that will grow and develop but also, play championship level bball now. That is the duo of Kyrie and Gordon.
He will always be one of my favorite Celtics, that is without a doubt, and when Kyrie scores 60 next season, I will forget about IT's 53 point game lol. In all seriousness though, when you look at the east, their talent lay in the guard play and in order to compete, we needed a scoring, athletic, bigger guard. Look at our competition : Washington has Wall, Toronto has Lowry, Clev obviously, Philly with Fultz, Milwaukie is an anomalie a bit but Brogdon is a nice player, Atlanta Schroder and so on and so on. We now have a scoring guard to compete with the Wall, Lowry match-ups.

[reggielewis]

We got a good coach y'all.

Read on Twitter

did he say whether he has spoken with Danny again at all? I am sure he is pissed at him and ownership but also feeling torn since this is the same guy that accompanied him to the funeral of his sister. Also, the last time he was traded, he found out on a team bus so at least Danny was man enough to call him.
Also, sounded like Crowder may have been looking to be traded once we got Hayward and drafted Tatum, so he may not be feeling too bitter.

[OFWGKTA]

After that article I think IT would have taken a discount when push came to shove next year

[DarkAzcura]

After that article I think IT would have taken a discount when push came to shove next year

Yeah I always felt the brinks trunks was in jest. Not that he was gonna take 10 million a year or something crazy, but I think he would had taken some type of hometown discount.

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

Good article and I am going to miss IT. Guy made this team worth watching during the rebuild. I was not for the trade but now I am a bit torn. Still think that is a ton to give up for Irving but between ITs hip and the fact he wants a max contract not sure Ainge had a choice but to move on.