Isaiah Thomas wants a max contract, and while no one can blame him, the diminutive point guard for the Boston Celtics keeps doing things to remind the public of his worth. Thomas, making only $6.3 million dollars in the final year of his deal, recently bought some sandals with a picture of a Brinks Truck on them. That was only one not-so-subtle message that if the Celtics hope to keep the two-time NBA All Star, they’re going to have to show Thomas a lot of money.
Thomas has seen the landscape change in Boston over the past few months with the departure of his backcourt running mate is Avery Bradley via trade and the additions of Jayson Tatum through the draft and the big money acquisition of Gordon Hayward via free agency. So despite the Celtics basically being locked in financially, Thomas is confident that he’ll get the contract he seeks from the Celtics.
“I deserve it. I put the work in, and you can put me down against any guard in the NBA,” said Thomas. My numbers are up there with the best players in the world, and my team is winning. So, you have to reward that. At the end of the day I’m not too worried about it. I only talk about it when people bring it up, so everybody’s always like, ‘He’s always talking.’ I’m not talking about it unless somebody brings it up. I’m just going to keep working though. My time is gonna come. I have a lot of faith in God, and I just have to keep working to get better.”
Working to get better is something the Celtics front office has done as well, turning the number No. 1 overall pick this year into the third pick (which they used on Tatum) and a future pick from either the Lakers or the Sacramento Kings down the line. Forgoing Markelle Fultz at No. 1 in the trade-down would indicate the team is committed to keeping Thomas longterm. But does Thomas believe that Celtics team President Danny Ainge will follow through?
“He knows,” Thomas said. “Everybody knows. That’s just what it is. But we have a great relationship. Me and Danny and the Celtics organization, and I always said I would love to be here, but as everybody knows, it’s a business, and at the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you just like the business is going to do what’s best for them, and that’s all I can say on that.”
That question of what’s best for business in Boston is going to be one lingering over the team all season as they try to be the first team to unseat a LeBron James-led team from representing the Eastern Conference for the first time in seven years.
