Hip Issues, Age, Defense Led to Thomas for Irving Trade

The NBA world was in shock when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics completed a trade agreeing to deliver Thomas, Crowder, Zizic and 2018 Brooklyn Nets pick for Kyrie Irving. Isaiah Thomas, a fan favorite to Boston Celtics fans, jumpstarted Celtics rebuilding process leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals just last season, so why did the Celtics move on from Thomas?

Thomas exited the game during game 2 of the ECF with a hip injury and recently reported to be quite serious, Boston GM Danny Ainge said Isaiah Thomas would likely miss some games to start the season, which also was reported to be a factor for trading Thomas. Also, Thomas will turn 30 years old soon, and apparently the Celtics were hesitant to pay Thomas reaching the wrong side of 30, espcially for a contract over 30 million per year. Lastly, Isaiah Thomas is purely a one way superstar, his offensively capabilities are amazing, yet his defense seems to need a lot of work, ranking 2nd to last on defensive ratings, having Thomas in the lineup required Brad Stevens to insert certain players like Bradley or Smart to make up of the mismatch on Thomas defensively, with Irving Celtics will want to experiment with different lineups without needing to worry too much about the defense.

Regardless, Trading Isaiah Thomas dropped the hearts of many Celtics fans, he was a true celtic, and will certainly be welcomed back to the garden with a roar of applause. Isaiah Thomas will always remembered for turning this Celtics franchise around.