https://sports.yahoo.com/news/lottery-presents-celtics-potential-franchise-player-also-isaiah-thomas-related-dilemma-082933236.html

I thought this article was worth a read. Bushnell acknowledges that while the possibility of the Celtics not re-signing Thomas to a max deal is unthinkable at this point, it's still worth objectively thinking about. As much as I like Thomas, I do think that everyone assuming his max deal next year is a sure thing could be a dangerous line of thinking.

I admit to wanting to have my cake and eat it to: straddle the line between going for a title and keeping the draft picks for the future, but that may not be realistic. At some point, perhaps soon, these draft picks are going to need big minutes to develop, specifically Brown and Fultz. It doesn't help that Brown plays SG/SF and Fultz plays PG/SG. If we sign Hayward, SF would be blocked and Brown could only move to SG. But then he conflicts with Fultz, who is supposed to take over there if he's going to share minutes with Thomas.

It's a good problem to have but the Celtics need to be very careful. Going for it all is very risky right now with the Cavs and Warriors showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. If we had signed Durant it would be very clear that going for it is the clear move. Durant is in his prime and a top 5, maybe top 2 player. The Warriors would also be weakened by not having Durant.

Without Durant, we're basically saying we think we can win with three max guys but none of whom are one of the top players in the league, the kind that is in the MVP conversation every year and a guaranteed perennial All-Star. Maybe it would be enough to say, even though we don't have that top player we have three really good ones, plus Fultz who eventually will be one? That sounds like wishful thinking though.

The best possible player out there that we could realistically get is Paul George, but as the article states it's risky due to his pending free agency. Losing Fultz, who could be star for the next decade to get one year of George would be devastating. And we don't even know if George is capable of getting to that next level anyway. As good as George is, he's not Durant or LeBron.

We're kind of in an Atlanta situation now with our pending big name FAs. Even though they offered the same deal or more than the Celtics for Horford, they weren't willing to give that supermax with the fifth year. Now there's pressure on a FAs current team to offer the max it can possibly give when very few players are actually worth it. Teams that have guys at the top echelon are actually getting the production back. However, teams that have the second-tier stars are not going to get that same return on investment. Thanks a lot LeBron and Chris Paul for putting that in the new CBA! =(

Anyway, thanks to anyone who read all this. My primary points are that the Celts need to be careful if they push all their chips into the pot and that Thomas should not be considered an automatic "supermax" guy.