One of the most frantic NBA trade deadlines in history was punctuated with a deal that sent Brandon Knight to Phoenix and Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis to Milwaukee. In the aftermath of that deal, Isaiah Thomas was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round draft pick initially from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Isaiah Thomas acquired by Celtics amid madness of NBA trade deadline
Boston traded for the 5’9 scoring guard just before the buzzer at the trade deadline.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
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Thomas was signed by Phoenix this summer and immediately becomes the best backcourt scorer on the roster for Boston. He’s signed through the 2017-18 season at roughly $8 million per year on average and just celebrated his 26th birthday.
Thomas averaged 15.2 points and 3.7 assists in 46 games for Phoenix this year. The Suns' backcourt was crowded with Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic (who has been traded to the Miami Heat) fighting for playing time with Thomas. When engaged, Thomas can be a firecracker scorer. He enjoyed a breakout season with the Sacramento Kings a year ago by averaging 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the field.
Thomas joins a Boston backcourt that includes rookie Marcus Smart and 24-year-old Avery Bradley. Boston started the day at 20-31 on the season, 1.5 games back of the final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
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