15 months after trade, Celtics are still rooting for Isaiah Thomas

DENVER – Nearly 15 months after Danny Ainge traded away Isaiah Thomas in a shocking blockbuster deal, the point guard is still waiting for an opportunity to suit up against his former squad.

The wait will continue on Monday night in Denver as Thomas continues to rehab following hip surgery last spring. The 5-foot-9 guard signed with the Nuggets for the veteran’s minimum in July and has still not played at all during the preseason or regular season as his recovery slows ramps up. Denver is showing plenty of patience with the 28-year-old, which is largely understandable as the Nuggets have rolled out to an 8-1 start to the season without him.

Still, the waiting game must be painful for Thomas as he’s never been close to the player he was during the 2016-17 season for the Celtics in the wake of the trade. Brad Stevens has watched his fight to regain that form from afar and remains a leading advocate for Thomas more than a year after the trade.

“IT is one of a kind and for all of us that have been with him and spent time with him, we’re hopeful that this time when he comes back he feels great and is ready to roll,” Stevens said on Monday morning. “There’s no question his impact on an organization and a team is hard to match. He meant so much to me and the way he kind of captivated Boston and the years that he had there it’s amazing. He’s an amazing guy. We obviously still keep in touch pretty regularly, but we’ll all look forward to seeing him back out on the court.”

Thomas spoke about the fact this summer that he reached out to the Celtics about a potential deal. However, Stevens indicated he did not get in the loop or those discussions until after Thomas signed with the Nuggets.

“We talked afterwards, after he signed here,” Stevens said. “Obviously, when he signed here -- his familiarity with (Nuggets coach) Mike (Malone), who he’s always loved, when he was playing in Boston he would always talk about Mike and he was always a huge fan of Mike. Whenever we played the team in Denver, Isaiah took the time to spend time with Mike and so I thought that was a great fit. We were going through some of our contract renegotiation things  and so I didn’t get in the middle of it during the initial phase of contact but talked to him right after he decided to come here.”

Signing Thomas this summer would have been somewhat of a pipe dream from a fit perspective given how much of a roster crunch the team had in the backcourt. The only potential route that could have been in play would have been a multi-player deal involving Marcus Smart and other guards (presumably for Kawhi Leonard) that could have opened up some roster spots and potentially playing opportunities. However, once the C’s offerings did not match what the Spurs were looking for there, bringing Thomas into the fold didn’t make much sense.

Stevens also reflected on how challenging the trade was from an emotional standpoint for himself and the entire region in wake of what Thomas sacrificed during the 2017 postseason.  

“These guys that cover us every day know that that was a really hard time because there was never a thought that we would possibly have traded him, and then Kyrie became available,” Stevens said. “So it was a super-unique situation and that was a tough one in all the households in Boston,  but certainly the Stevens household as well. But that’s because he did so much in Boston because he was so well-liked and how much he poured his heart into the game of basketball. This guy works as hard and is as dedicated as anyone I’ve been around. That’s why we all are smarter than to bet against him, because when he gets back out on that court he’s going to make a heck of a difference.”

“That’s a guy who put his heart and soul in every game and sacrificed a lot,” Marcus Smart added. “The passing of his sister, and he comes out and goes crazy. Anybody in their right mind would have understood him taking that time out to be with his family and the mourning of his sister, but that’s the type of person IT is – a competitor. He came out and played that game for her, gave it everything he had, and in the blink of an eye it’s like, where’s he at now? He’s kind of vanished. Nobody really talks about him, and this guy was one of the best players to ever do it. He still has the single-game playoff record of what, 53 points, of any active player? That’s ridiculous, insane.”

The positive news for Thomas (who was not made available to us in Denver for comment) is that the pressure will be off him in Denver for whenever he does feel healthy enough to return to the floor. This is an elite offense without him and has plenty of creators in Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Will Barton in the backcourt that can do the heavy lifting. The Nuggets are winning without him and anything he can give them this year is gravy.

“He’s gonna be alright,” Smart said. “I think it’s good he’s taken this full year off to rehab that body and give himself a chance to be ready for next season. Get his mind back right, clear his mind and get focused. But this will do justice for him and he’ll come back strong.”

The Brinks truck won’t be backing up for him anytime soon, but the ingredients for a resurgence are there for him in Denver. His former Celtics teammates will be rooting for him from afar to overcome the adversity and establish himself as a bench scorer once more.