BOSTON – When Isaiah Thomas played for the Celtics, he was very much a straight-no-chaser kind of guy who didn’t hold back his thoughts on anything and everything.
So, when he has been asked repeatedly about how things ended in Boston, he was absolutely clear in not wanting to be traded and not liking how things ended.
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But time – and his return to playing – seems to be the perfect elixir to cure whatever hurt feelings may have existed before.
“I love this city, I love this organization,” Thomas, who didn't play Wednesday due to the Cavs playing on Tuesday and him not being cleared yet to play back-to-back games, told reporters prior before the game. “They gave me an opportunity to be who I always wanted to be and I can’t thank them enough. There’s no hard feelings towards anybody in this city or to anybody in this organization. It’s genuine love, and that’s for the rest of my life.”
Boston traded Thomas along with Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, a second round pick (from Miami) and the rights to Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round pick, in exchange for Kyrie Irving.
Boston Celtics
Thomas, who suffered a hip injury while in Boston that kept him out for seven months (Tuesday against Portland was Thomas’ first game this season), said the inability to return to the floor sooner definitely made moving on from the trade tougher.
“If I would have been able to play after the trade, it wouldn’t have been as crazy as it was,” Thomas said. “It was tough for me, seeing everybody else able to play, being able to be out there to compete. To get that under my belt last night, was one of the best days of my life.”
Thomas scored 17 points in 19 minutes off the bench in his Cavs debut Tuesday.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was happy for Thomas being able to have such a positive return to the game.
“It was great to watch him play last night,” Stevens said. “I thought he was fantastic and added a dimension and element to their team.
Stevens added, “He’s going to add quite a bit to that team; you could tell last night.”