Isaiah Thomas believes he’s a max-level player, and he posted a pair of custom slides with a Brinks truck on them to confirm his belief. That got Celtics general manager Danny Ainge to tweet this humorous -- and potentially awkward — response.
Isaiah Thomas’ innocent photo of Brinks slides has a hidden message
The Celtics need to be ready to back up the Brinks for Isaiah Thomas’ next contract
Ainge was being funny, but this ties in to Thomas’ impending free agency in 2018. Here’s how.
What’s the significance of Thomas’ brinks reference?
Thomas has had an obsession with that phrase over the last few years. In an interview with CSN New England earlier this offseason, he talked about the Celtics backing up a Brinks truck for him next season when it’s time for him to get paid.
I’m a max guy. I deserve the max, and we’ve just got to continue to take care of business on the court and let the cards fall where they may. But I’m happy for all the guards and all the other guys getting their money, because they deserve it. But my time is coming, they know they’ve got to bring the Brinks truck out.
But that’s not all. Almost exactly a year before, Thomas referenced a Brinks truck when the time comes to give him a raise. “They better bring out the Brinks truck. They’re paying everybody else,” Thomas said to CSNNE in 2016. “I’ve got to get something.”
Earlier this season, Thomas said the Celtics could hold off on backing up any trucks if they’re going to sign another max free agent. But after the Gordon Hayward signing and John Wall, Stephen Curry and James Harden received max deals this offseason, Thomas made sure we knew he is ready for his.
Thomas was paid $6.5 million last season and will have his salary decrease next season to $6.2 million, thanks to a contract he originally signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2013. He’s the fourth highest paid player on the team and makes around the league’s aveage salary despite being Boston’s highest scorer by a wide margin.
There’s a hidden message in Thomas’ slides, then
It’s a not-so-subtle message for the Celtics that he expects to be handsomely rewarded for turning himself from a 6th-man caliber rotation player into a multi-time All-Star.
Thomas’ production certainly backs his desires up. He averaged more than 28 points per game last year while leading league in fourth quarter scoring and captivating fans with dazzling moments, like when he dropped 53 points in Game 2 of the second-round playoff series against the Wizards while playing with a heavy heart due to the death of his sister and a broken jaw. He’s earned the right to ask for a max deal to start negotiations.
Will the Celtics back up the Brink’s truck?
Despite Thomas’ massive improvement, this isn’t an easy decision for Boston.
Thomas was a superstar last year, but he also was a major liability on defense, and, well, he is small. He’ll be looking for a full 5-year, $200 million-plus deal, but he’ll also be 29 years old when the time comes.
It’s hard to make that kind of long-term commitment to a 5’9 guard exiting his prime that only impacts one end of the floor, no matter how good he is there. The Celtics may not even need his scoring as much this year with Gordon Hayward on the roster.
Thomas may end up in a situation like (or worse) than Kyle Lowry did with the Raptors this passed offseason. The 31-year-old Lowry was looking for a full 5-year, $200 million deal from Toronto just like Thomas will be next year. But once the market didn’t work out for him, Lowry ended up settling for a 3-year deal at about $33 million per year.
Lowry’s payday, while substantial, wasn’t as large as he hoped because Toronto wasn’t willing to give him that fifth year and he couldn’t find an offer as lucrative as he wanted elsewhere. The market may get even worse for Thomas next year with only a handful of teams able to dish out money for maximum level salaries as the cap tightens. Even many of those teams are already set at point guard and don’t need to sign Thomas.
By virtue of circumstance, Thomas, despite vastly outperforming his current contract, may not get the full reward he so transparently desires.
The good news for Thomas is the Celtics’ moves to this point suggest they’re willing to commit to him. They traded away a chance to snag elite point guard prospect Markelle Fultz in the draft and were willing to deal Avery Bradley to Detroit to save money for next offseason.
The question is for how much. For his sake, he should hope Ainge is willing to buy him more slides and then some.
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