Celtics' Brad Stevens Weighs In on Bringing Isaiah Thomas Back

Former Boston Celtics MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas, whose 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks came to an end last week, was on the Celtics’ radar.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens confirmed this much to be true during his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich morning show.

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Celtics’ Brad Stevens: ‘I’m a Huge Isaiah Fan’

Stevens addressed the possibility of the Celtics offering Isaiah a chance to make a comeback in Boston.

“I’m a huge Isaiah fan, always have been, and obviously recently the 10-day stuff; he had a couple of those 10-days,” Stevens said during his weekly interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich. “We actually had a few in between his that we ended up signing. In fact, I think we signed all five when he was with the Lakers. I’m a huge fan of his and obviously following from afar. Our roster situation, right now, is complicated enough that we got to get through the next month to see kind of where it lands and what we look like.

“Then, we’ll make other decisions whether we have spots or adds, whatever the case may be. Isaiah is everything that everyone has made him out to be. He’s great.”

Stevens on Isaiah Thomas’ Game: ‘Every Team Benefits From That’

For Celtics fans, Thomas’s three seasons in Boston are an era in history that they’ll never forget. Isaiah averaged 24.6 points and 6.0 assists per game in his short stint with the team.

Thomas also made two All-Star appearances (2016, 2017), finished third in points per game in 2016-17, where he led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals before finishing fifth for the MVP award.

“I think every team benefits from that, and obviously there’s a lot of factors with regard to the roster, and specifically, each team and each team’s situation contractually and flexibility-wise, etc., that go into these decisions,” Stevens said of Thomas’ determination and work ethic. “But, every team benefits from that kind of energy and that kind of leadership, and people that can play multiple roles and those types of things.”

Celtics’ Marcus Smart Considered Day-to-Day

In the meantime, the Celtics are waiting on Marcus Smart’s next health update — which should help Stevens determine Boston’s next roster move, whether that be a move suited to help the Celtics in the short-term or beyond. Smart, who suffered a right thigh contusion, exited the matchup against the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden Monday night and never returned.

“Well, I don’t know who listed him as probable to return. So, I would think that that would have been an error in a listing,” Stevens laughed. “When he got hit, he got kneed in the quad. I don’t know if you saw it, he got kneed by (Domantas) Sabonis on one of those screens, and I’m pretty sure that everybody else that would have got kneed by Sabonis would have taken, at least, a few days to recover from that with a deep quad bruise.

“So, that’s where he is. He was struggling to move on Tuesday morning before they left for Indy and then, obviously, couldn’t go yesterday — he’s day-to-day.”

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