Isaiah Thomas told Sports Illustrated last week that he "might never talk to Danny [Ainge] again." And he sounded pretty bitter about his trade from the Celtics to the Cavs.
Now, on the "Road Trippin" podcast with new teammate Channing Frye and ex-Cav Richard Jefferson, Thomas, who is out until at least January with a hip injury, said those comments were misunderstood.
MORE:
- Meet the Celtics roster for opening night
- Smart 'not worried' about lack of contract extension with Celtics
- Celtics may spend a good part of the year playing 'Getting To Know You'
- Tatum may find himself in Celtics' starting lineup on Opening Night
- New-look Celtics know they have still have to 'bring their game'
- Five under-the-radar-storylines for Opening Night
“People took it the wrong way,” Thomas said. “I understand the business, I understand that we’re in position to get traded and sent to other teams and things like that. It’s just how it went down that I didn’t respect. As a man, I feel like if you respected me as much as you say you did, you would have at least informed me about what was going on before it happened. And that’s all I was talking about.
“I’m not tripping off the trade like I got traded to the Cavs and we’re going to win a championship. And at the end of the day, I’m going to be fine with that,” Thomas said. “[Ainge] sent me to an even better situation with a bigger platform. I’m blessed to be in the position, I’m grateful and I’m excited.”
Ainge responded to Isaiah's comments on WEEI.
Boston Celtics
"He had an amazing platform and he went from a guy that bounced around a little bit from Sacramento to Phoenix and came to Boston, found a home, and played unbelievable basketball last year," said Ainge. "Going forward all point guards that play great in a Celtic uniform will be compared to Isaiah Thomas and how they compare to him.
“But I don’t know what we owe him. We gave him an opportunity, we gave him everything he had while he was here, and he gave us everything he had.”
The Cavs host the Celtics tonight in the season opener.
Jae Crowder, who came to Cleveland from Boston, was also on the podcast and when Frye talked with him about players deserving communication from the front office, Thomas could be heard in the background, saying, “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“I already said what I’m doing," Thomas told Crowder about what he'll do should he run into Ainge. "I’m going to keep it pushing like he kept pushing when he traded me, I’m not going to disrespect him. He’s a man and I’m a man, too. Like, I’m going to go my way. I play for the Cavaliers and that’s what it is.”