To The "Trade IT" Crowd. What Are We Trading Him FOR?

[Ilikesports17]

It's pretty easy to blame everything on Thomas - and avoid binkys like Smart, Crowder, The Legend of Jaylen Brown, etc. - as this board reminds me every day. Reminds me of someone on the East Coast who's in the news every day.

Thomas is the best player on this squad - and it isn't close. Once you realize that there isn't a player on this roster without "limitations," you'll get the point. Players you love have zero to do with anything.

He should be maxed, and he will be maxed. Anything less would be malfeasance on the part of Celtics management.

I'm going to keep harping on 3 things:

1. The cap is leveling off and fewer teams are going to have max cap room when IT is a FA.
2. All of the reservations that C's fans have about Thomas (size, age, etc.) are the same reservations other GM's are going to have about him when it comes time to hand out checks.
3. Point Guard is the deepest position in the league by far and there are likely 5 PG's going in the top 10 of this summer's draft. What team is going to need a PG let alone be willing to give Isaiah $40 million in year 4?

I remain unconvinced that IT is a lock to get a max deal, even as he's made his way into the MVP conversation this year.

I agree with all your post, but this. I read many basketball forums (English and Spanish language) and Celtic fans are the only ones giving IT presence in the MVP conversation.

http://www.nba.com/mvp-ladder

5. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Last week: No. 5

The Celtics received a solid reminder in their past two games (back-to-back wins over Washington and Indiana) about just how valuable Thomas is to the cause. And he’s right, things are just “clicking” for the Celtics right now, which is a great sign as they battle for that No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Thomas followed up his two-game absence with that knee injury with back-to-back 25-point games (24.0 points, 4.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds in his last five games).

He is a product the NBA wants to sell badly, it's logical to get him so high. Celtics on the rise, a historic team with a huge fan base, a guy with whom people can identify themselves due to his common height, etc. We'll see when journalists vote if he is even All-NBA second team

Bradley needs to defend one and a half guy to keep him fresh, and as I have reminded people many times, basketball is a two-sided sport. I can't think of IT as the most valuable player in the league, not even close.

Having said that, for our style of team defense, switches and lack of a scorer, he is a tremendous fit. It may change if we draft Fultz and a change of scenery will be on the table, though. Getting 65 million per year for Isaiah Thomas and Horford will be hard to contend if we want to keep other players and have a realiable bench.

The current MVP front-runner James Harden is famous for his horrible defense.

[tstorey_97]

A couple things about Thomas.

He has been pulled for defense off and on since he got here. Of late, Brown has been his replacement.

The Boston Celtics are "built around" Thomas as of now. The offense is designed to exploit his outstanding production and this partially explains his killer numbers.

There isn't anyone who plays harder than Thomas, I feel he has in fact, carried this team this year. There aren't many NBA starters who can "carry" their team, Thomas is one of them.

If the Celtics didn't have Thomas? They would have another competent PG, but, not with his stats.

In today's NBA, not only is it challenging to get a top player from another team, it is also difficult to get value for one of your own top players. 

In fantasy sports you can swap players and make deals, with the CBA it is trickier than ever.

Does Ainge think that IT at a max + Horford at a max with a third max will get a banner?

Good debate. For Ainge, IT's Brinks truck might be the only option as another GM maybe unlikely to change his team's structure and tactics to fully realize IT's value.