Boston Celtics: Why Trading Isaiah Thomas Might Not Be A Crazy Idea

The Options

The Celtics/Nets trade that has provided Boston with all the joys of tanking without any of the unsightly losing is like the relationship in the popular kid’s book, The Giving Tree. The Nets have no more apples, are about to lose all of their branches, and next year their trunk. Brook Lopez and Co. can only hope that after the Celtics have had a wild ride at their expense, they return to sit on their stump in Downtown Brooklyn.

The odds of this all falling into place just as it has are almost unfathomable. The Celtics are faced with the looming Isaiah Thomas decision just as the two best point guard prospects since John Wall are sitting atop everyone’s draft boards. If they do end up with Fultz or Ball, how much harder does it make their decision?

On the downside, naturally, it’s impossible to know whether Fultz or Ball will ever be as good as Thomas offensively. It takes only a cursory glance at the standings to know that a point guard who can drive, move the ball effectively, and knock it down from outside is virtually a prerequisite to contend. Would the Celtics want to take the somewhere between 10 and 40 percent chance that Ball or Fultz never get to that level, especially when they have a team so close to winning right now?

That question comes down to just how close the Boston Celtics really are at the moment, versus what an alternative future without Thomas might look like.