Isaiah says hip is great and still talking max money

[wayupnorth]

Great hearing that his hip is feeling great. Hope he has a healthy and productive season.

As for talking max money Isaiah's best option is to shut up! Too many people are struggling just to make ends meet. He sounds like he feels entitled. If he's worth the max, then let his actions will prove his worth, not his mouth. His agent needs to talk with him.

If I remember correctly Sport Illustrated (or some other news source) wrote that, when his overall play is considered, his numbers didn't equate to being anything special. Plus, his playoff performance against Cleveland in the 2016 weren't anything special either.

This past year it was noticeable that more teams were doing a better job keeping him in check. Thus, he's a liability at times because he's shooting too much. He needs to focus on basketball and not comment any further to questions on his future contract.

Uhhhhhh, is that why he had, by far, the best year of his career and finished top 5 in MVP voting?

Foolish statement.

[Eddie20]

IT just outplayed John Wall in the playoffs despite being significantly injured.  John Wall just signed a supermax extension.  Of course IT thinks he should get the max.  And I agree with him.

That's a real stretch.

[Eddie20]

He literally just answered a reporters question. He did so in a basic form of that. Nothing to see here/discuss

But don't you think the question was asked because of the constant brinks trucks comments and photo of brinks slides? The last 2 summers we've signed 2 max players (Horford and Hayward) and I don't recall much, if any, questions on them getting max money leading up to their signings. It's an issue because Thomas has made it an issue.

[tazzmaniac]

It's hard to see how this won't become a problem. I'm almost certain Ainge is not going to simply give IT a 5 year $179M max deal, but that's what IT clearly thinks he deserves. He will want to see what the market will bear, then match it, and he will want some tail off of the deal. The likelihood is they will be $30M-40M or more apart.

Will IT cooperate with that process? I'm guessing this will get ugly.

No way should Ainge offer IT a 5 year max deal.  I'm still trying to figure out what other teams are going to offer him a 4 year max deal.  Between lack of need and lack of cap space, I'm drawing a blank. 

I could see this turning into a similar situation as Ray.  Where IT feels slighted by the initial offer and carries that through the negotiation.   

[Phantom255x]

Without Isaiah, there is no Horford and Hayward here. Period.

I have a feeling the plan is for IT to stay unless his hip injury is a lot worse than expected (which it doesn't seem like it is, thank god). Ainge and Wyc don't seem to worried about the potential contract and I think Hayward and Horford were given assurances IT would stay (because lets be honest, why would they come here if Ainge was like.. "yeah.. the thing is we may not keep Isaiah after the upcoming season..." (or 2 in Horford's case).

Say what you want but I highly doubt last year's team is better than a 6 seed without Isaiah. 2 years ago we aren't in the playoffs without Isaiah.

[BitterJim]

He literally just answered a reporters question. He did so in a basic form of that. Nothing to see here/discuss

But don't you think the question was asked because of the constant brinks trucks comments and photo of brinks slides? The last 2 summers we've signed 2 max players (Horford and Hayward) and I don't recall much, if any, questions on them getting max money leading up to their signings. It's an issue because Thomas has made it an issue.

Hayward and Horford weren't ridiculously underpaid before signing here, either. Both were max players before signing their deals here; IT has been getting less than the MLE

Edit: There also was no debate about whether they were max players (or, at least not as large of a debate)

[Rosco917]

This entire subject is going to be a distraction for the year. I'm sure Danny will evaluate what IT does, and doesn't do, and offer a contract based on that.

IF Thomas remains healthy all year, and IF he has a season like last, and IF he ends the season in good health, and leads the C's into at least the ECF... he may get his max deal.

I wouldn't bet my house on it.

[Boris Badenov]

"I'll think about my next contract when the season is over. I'm focused on getting back into shape and helping the team win."

That is the only way he should be answering every question on the topic. Anything else provokes unnecessary distraction.

The reason he's stressing it so much is because there are growing circles in Boston media constantly questioning if he is worth it. IT didn't start the max debate, we did...

This is precisely why he needs to shut up about it. He's just feeding the hot take machine.

If he deflects the question enough he'll stop getting the question. And he needs to do that because the question is completely irrelevant at this point. We have a full season of ball to play before the negotiations begin.

[Ilikesports17]

"I'll think about my next contract when the season is over. I'm focused on getting back into shape and helping the team win."

That is the only way he should be answering every question on the topic. Anything else provokes unnecessary distraction.

The reason he's stressing it so much is because there are growing circles in Boston media constantly questioning if he is worth it. IT didn't start the max debate, we did...

This is precisely why he needs to shut up about it. He's just feeding the hot take machine.

If he deflects the question enough he'll stop getting the question. And he needs to do that because the question is completely irrelevant at this point. We have a full season of ball to play before the negotiations begin.

^correct take.

[SparzWizard]

I would give him "maybe close to" max money, but if he starts playing defense then he'll deserve the full max.

[SHAQATTACK]

my hip wpuld feel like wrestling Lawrence Taylor too for 100 million

we will see little IT what the season  brings ...i hope 25 points a game or that Brinks truck might just drive on past your house.

[nickagneta]

The man has earned a 4 year max contract and Ainge is going to give it to him. If Ainge wasn't going to give it to him, he would have drafted Ball or Fultz. IT is here for the long run at max money, so people better get used to it, Brinks truck talk or not.

[jambr380]

The man has earned a 4 year max contract and Ainge is going to give it to him. If Ainge wasn't going to give it to him, he would have drafted Ball or Fultz. IT is here for the long run at max money, so people better get used to it, Brinks truck talk or not.

You seem awfully sure, nick. I mean, last season he certainly played like a max player; unfortunately for him, his contract isn't up until after this season. IT is going to average fewer points with Hayward here, Brown playing more, and Tatum possibly showing what he can do. I realize we lost Bradley, but we gained Morris, who only scored 2 fewer ppg.

Health will be a factor as will the success of this team. If Smart makes a real jump (probably not likely, but you never know) and IT shows signs of breaking down, I could see the team moving on from IT if he is unwilling to accept a more reasonable deal.

The other option is moving Horford after this season. I don't necessarily think that is the best idea due to the uncertainty of our 'bigs', but people are too quick to assume Smart will be gone. I have a hard time believing that will be the case.

[satch]

I like IT. His coming to Boston contributed to Ainges reputation and help build Brad's. (If he had not blossomed in Boston the rebuild would be under fire.)  That being said things were not going well for him in last playoff series. Always wondered about that injury.

[Eddie20]

Isaiah Thomas will be 29 in February, which for the purposes of discussion, let's count that as the age he will be for the season below. Since after all, that will be his age during the most important time of the year - the playoffs.

The contract used below is the 5-year max deal Blake Griffin (only 1 month younger than Thomas) received this past summer. Which coincidentally, Griffin has the same agent as Thomas. This should offer a relatively close approximation as to what the "Brinks truck" should bring.

17-18 (age 29)
6.2M

18-19 (age 30)
29.5M

19-20 (age 31)
31.8M

20-21 (age 32)
34.2M

21-22 (age 33)
36.5M

22-23 (age 34)
38.9M

I understand that Thomas was underpaid, but that's because he signed his deal before the NBA salary spike. His agent should've had the foresight to sign a shorter deal and not have him locked to a contract that at at the time was slightly above MLE money. Instead he finds himself criminally underpaid this year, the last of a descending contract.

I realize that he's been great for the Celtics, but signing him to a longterm contract because of what he has accomplished, rather than what he will likely accomplish, is a bad precedent for contract negotiations.

When actually seeing the approximate numbers he will be paid and the age he will be during those said seasons, I wonder how many loyal Thomas supporters will still be aboard the "give him the max" bandwagon.