Concerns regarding Thomas

[Tr1boy]

1. He was unhappy in Phoenix because he was hoping to get a chance to Start.  The media was made aware
2. He fired his agent early December.  He stated it had nothing to do with the Suns situation. It was for professional and personal reasons (whatever this means)
3. Last seasons incident with Bayless   (something relating to their past as teammates before the NBA)

Thomas seems like a moody individual.  Hopefully he is not going to complain, whine and cause issues in the locker room.   

I don't know what Danny's exact vision is with bringing in Thomas.  If he wants him to be the ultimate 6th man for the next 3 years or wants to pair him up with AB or Smart to start eventually. 

For me , I just want the guy to not complain, fight with guys in the locker room and just play his game whenever his number is called.
 

[Rosco917]

My concerns are what kind of a point guard is he?, and can he defend at all?

We know he's a scorer and a spark.

Hopefully he will be a good Celtic.

[BleedGreen1989]

Yeah, i mean he's not perfect.

There's a reason he has the contract and production he does and only fetched a late first.

The hope is he buys into whatever role Stevens has for him.

Also, on the court, he gets the "ball hog" label and certainly can have heavy doses of tunnel vision. Lots of possessions can end up with 4 guys standing around watching IT.

[TheFlex]

I think he'll start. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Tr1boy]

My concerns are what kind of a point guard is he?, and can he defend at all?

We know he's a scorer and a spark.

Hopefully he will be a good Celtic.

He tries on defense. He is a good rebounder, i mean very good for his miniature size. The issue is there is so much he can do against bigger pgs or in the PNR.

That is why it's great that one of AB or Smart can help makeup for IT defensive limitations

Danny and CBS I don't think are concerned if IT can do the job on the defensive end.  The team needs him to score , replace Marcus Thornton's role plus some. Like create offensive out of thin air

[colincb]

I be a little concerned about him too. Had the rep of being a bit selfish on the floor, especially for a PG, but who knows how much truth there was to that.

David Thorpe said he's the best 3rd guard in the NBA and Thomas was able to validate himself as a player on a decent team after his initial stint in SAC where he looked very good on a bad team.  Great contract too and we got him for an expiring and a likely late 1st. Danny liked him for a while.

As for Ainge's vision for him? Add him to Danny's pile of assets.

[Roy H.]

My concerns are that he looks for his own shot a bit too much (even at the expense of better players), and his defense is quite poor.

[chambers]

I'm not the biggest fan of this trade either.
I mean it was okay considering we gave up what will be a late first round pick, but Isaiah Thomas just isn't a building block.
Even if he is good value on his salary, the only reason I can see him being here is so we have a point guard than can teach Smart to run the pick and roll for a year before he's shipped off.

I won't call Thomas mediocre, because Evan Turner is mediocre.

He's going to be a liability on defense but he hustles hard and plays hard which is good for the locker room.

As long as he starts next to Marcus Smart then that's great. Marcus can start focusing on attacking the rim and learning from IT in the pick and roll and that's ultimately what he was brought here for- other than his trade value as a 'value' contract.

I just hope Avery becomes the 6th man and IT+Smart can be the starting guard duo.

[Tr1boy]

Yeah, i mean he's not perfect.

There's a reason he has the contract and production he does and only fetched a late first.

The hope is he buys into whatever role Stevens has for him.

Also, on the court, he gets the "ball hog" label and certainly can have heavy doses of tunnel vision. Lots of possessions can end up with 4 guys standing around watching IT.

For all the ball hogging he does, he has shot the ball ok for a pg (last season also). This season 39 percent from 3 pt line.

I think he will be a good fit for the Celts bc we do need a "me me me" guy.  Especially a guy that can get you the crucial buckets with less than 5 min.   

but yeah things could go down south if he brings up the ball and chucks it up on a consistent basis.  We will have to see what CBS can do with IT and how he will fit with this group   

Worse case he could be traded on draft night to a team that needs a starting pg.  IT reminds me of Brandon Jennings.  Some baggage, a little selfish but with skills hard to ignore. 

[Tr1boy]

Lets not forget , he also came from a volatile situation in phoenix with the whole dragic situation and some pointing fingers that it was because of him.

[Granath]

My concerns are that he looks for his own shot a bit too much (even at the expense of better players), and his defense is quite poor.

I don't think those are concerns. I think those are facts. 

Thomas isn't ever going to be a great player. But he is a young, good player on a team friendly contract. And to get that kind of player for what Danny just sent over is pretty remarkable.

Moreover, he should really fill a need. The Celtics need someone who can score off the pick-and-roll, who can create a shot and who can fill a starting role. Thomas can do these things. His biggest deficiency is his defense and the Celtics have two of the better guard defenders in the league in Bradley and Smart.

Finally, if he doesn't work out, what did the Celtics really give up? An expiring contract and a very late first (something that we could easily get again by packaging a couple of the 2nd rounders together). This is almost a no-risk, potentially high reward deal that helps the team now and in the future.

[inverselock]

Defence isn't as bad as I thought.   Not great,  but doesn't appear to be a liability.

http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/202738/tracking/defense/
http://www.82games.com/1415/14PHO1.HTM

[BleedGreen1989]

Defence isn't as bad as I thought.   Not great,  but doesn't appear to be a liability.

http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/202738/tracking/defense/
http://www.82games.com/1415/14PHO1.HTM

Wow, opponents are shooting 40% against him? That's solid for sure.

[Evantime34]

I wouldn't want him as my starter. He is too small to play consistent defense. He isn't great at running an offense. He isn't always going to move the ball when he should.

What he is going to do is straight up score when he gets in the game. I think he won't complain about a bench role, because he is going to be able to shoot as much as he wants on this team when he is in the game.

[SHAQATTACK]

My concerns are that he looks for his own shot a bit too much (even at the expense of better players), and his defense is quite poor.

He is liable to be like a machine gun on the Celtics . 

Bradley loves to shoot ,   Too..

I wonder if KO or Zeller will ever get a shot now.