Isaiah Thomas pledged to put on his recruiting hat for the Celtics this summer.
He didn’t wait long until Boston target Kevin Durant reached his offseason to send a public message.
Thomas deleted the tweet, but not before Adam Kauffman of WBZ News Radio captured it:
Isaiah Thomas, #Celtics All-Star recruiter, tweeted (and deleted) last night... #Durant pic.twitter.com/8rPGk4qpLI
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 31, 2016
This is how free agency works now. It’d be tampering for Celtics general manager Danny Ainge to talk or tweet about Durant until the star’s Thunder contract expires July 1. But the NBA doesn’t enforce tampering rules on inter-player communication. So, general managers deploy players to pitch pending free agents before July.
Thomas just needs to work on his execution.
The Celtics retired No. 35 for Reggie Lewis, who died at age 27 due to a sudden heart issue. So, Durant would have to change his number if he signed in Boston. No. 35 already has a different, and special, meaning there.
Plus, Durant might not take kindly to potential suitors swarming so soon after the Thunder were eliminated. Whatever he does in the summer, Durant wanted to win with Oklahoma City this season.
But don’t expect this to be the last you hear of the Celtics in the Durant sweepstakes.