Yeah guys... IT is the "odd man out" right??

[flybono]

IT isn't the problem, it's the other 14 players who suk

[GRADYCOLNON]

Let's put it this way, Boston is not going to re-sign Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, Olynyk, and Smart.

I agree with that, but out of those guys, IT is by far the hardest to replace.

He also is the oldest, going to command the largest contract, and mostly likely would give you the best value in return.  Unless Boston lands a major free agent or trades for a major player, I expect Thomas to be traded before next years trade deadline.

What do you think we would be able to get for him? in a trade?

Lol if you people actually expect IT will get you a guy like Lillard or Westbrook in return, then forget it.

At absolute best, you can probably get two future first round picks (2017 and 2019 I guess), a solid bench player and fringe starter. Frankly I don't see teams giving up their stock for IT.

Now while you people put IT on the "trade block", he can "quietly" put up 25-30 points a game for us and help us win games. That works too.

Well, I never expected a return like that. So, not sure where that came from.

But this response is exactly what I wanted to hear. If teams aren't gonna give up much to get him in a trade now, why in the world would they bend to his desires of getting paid a max contract? If they aren't "going to give up their stock" for him, then surely that logic has to apply to free agency too! In fact, I'd say it affects free agency even more than his trade value, because the team signing him to a contract has to be held liable to the amount of money they sign him to for a long time.

This all circles back to my opinion regarding the whole issue: teams aren't gonna give up much to trade for Isaiah. Hence, it's reasonable to assume that they will also not go out of their way to give him the big money that he wants.

Therefore --> it's unreasonable to think that we HAVE to pay him max money, or else he's gonna leave for somewhere else. Because if we follow my logic above (which might have flaws, please call me out if you disagree), then it's unlikely that any team will try that hard to sign him and get him that big money contract. As such, there's no rush to trade him, and since I find it unlikely that his free agency value will be anywhere near a max contract, I think he ends up returning to Boston, at a reasonable price-and maybe even a "hometown" discount (though Boston isn't his hometown, he's been treated incredibly here and loves it here), so that he can continue winning with this group.

It is basically a fact now: Isaiah Thomas is gonna be paid the MAX once his contract is up.  There is no denying that reality.  As proven these past few years, there is always a market for top flight talent and one team will be willing to offer the max. Examples are Harrison Barnes, Chandler Parsons, Al Horford.  There are others that were paid too much to be retained: Mike Conley, Bradley Beal, Hassan Whiteside.  It's become a no hometown discount league. Options are limited to holding fast, which cripple our future cap space, or to trade him to recoup losses.

It should be noted that Isaiah trade value isn't about trying to get future assets like first rounders and prospects.  More likely, Isaiah is live bait and Danny is hoping to reel in a 500lb Swordfish. In a nutshell, what makes Isaiah appealing is his flash and heart.  A floundering team looking to improve fan turnout will want Isaiah's underdog, magic, and relentless scoring as a stop-gap for their future tumultuous seasons.  This aspect could convince a team to part ways with their young star they know they will not be able to retain. 

To address replacing Isaiah, the answer is simple.  You are replacing him with the new talent. And allowing the retained players to soak up the new opportunities and responsibilities.