NBA Trade News 2017: Isaiah Thomas Says Kyrie Irving Trade Doesn't Make Boston Celtics Better in Candid Farewell Message
After barely talking about the hottest trade this National Basketball Association offseason, Isaiah Thomas has written a very straightforward farewell message where he openly said he did not think the Boston Celtics became a better team after losing him and several others for the four-time All-Star player Kyrie Irving.
Thomas let fans in on some of the most interesting and unheard-of details of his trade. In an article he wrote for The Players Tribune that he titled "This is for Boston," Thomas shared how Celtics general manager Danny Ainge broke the news that he was no longer wearing the green and white player's uniform.
To those who are not in the know, the Boston Celtics won in acquiring Irving but it cost them a lot of players, including Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, Brooklyn Nets' first-round 2018 and Miami Heat's second-round 2020 draft picks. Meanwhile, Irving went to Boston with Gordon Hayward.
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Thomas shared that on his drive home from the airport where he and his wife had just arrived from a vacation they took for their first wedding anniversary, he had called Ainge after receiving a text message from the latter. When the call pushed through, Ainge told him: "I just traded you."
Thomas recalled: "Simple as that. No big words, no big speech."
The player shared that at the time, all he could mutter was: "To where?" And to sum up how he took the news that he soon had to leave Boston, Thomas admitted: "But yeah, I'll just say it: That s*** hurt. It hurt a lot."
"It's not that I don't understand it. Of course I get it: This is a business. Danny is a businessman, and he made a business move. I don't agree with it, just personally, and I don't think the Boston Celtics got better by making this trade," Thomas said.
However, the player maintained that he understood how things worked in NBA and reiterated that he had no hard feelings toward the Celtics management or Ainge. He added that it was the team's right to trade him.
After going on about how much he loved the city of Boston and how sad it would be for him and his family to move out, Thomas also shared how excited he was to play as a Cavalier.
Thomas said: "I'mma just say this here, point-blank, to get it over with — and then you can go ahead and post it on whatever bulletin boards you want to: You are not going to want to mess with the Cavs this year. This is going to be a great year to be a Cavs fan, a great year. And I'm excited."
Meanwhile, due to his hip injury, Thomas is expected to miss the early parts of the NBA season 2017-18. However, both him and his new team have refrained from giving an estimate on how long his medical recovery would take before he can be cleared again to play.
