Isaiah Thomas had his moments with the Sacramento Kings but things just haven't panned out since he went from one team to another.
Thomas moved to the Phoenix Suns after the Kings in what many believed was confusing. This was because at that time, the Suns had a loaded backcourt which saw three point guards (Thomas, Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic) at that time, raising questions on how the three could co-exist despite the highly touted three-point guard approach.
Acquired in February 19, 2015 with the Celtics, Thomas has been a regular fixture off the bench. He has excelled being the sixth man of the Boston Celtics. In fact, Thomas ended up second in the voting for the 2015 NBA Sixth Man Award which went to Lou Williams of the Toronto Raptors.
Williams finished with a total of 502 votes while Thomas had 324.
Hence, Thomas has proven that he can be a solid backup player but is he ready to move up to starter status? At the moment that seems a bit bleak though it could all depend on head coach Brad Stevens.
Stevens has been using rookie Marcus Smart to start at point but it seems that the move was due to matchup issues. Thomas was seen as a liability at just 5-foot-9 which may be the reason why Stevens opted to go with a taller Smart (6-foot-4) in the starting lineup.
Despite the handicap, Thomas has proven he can be explosive when called upon. And now that he has hooked up for three more years with the Celtics, he could probably work his way up as he heads into the next season.
One thing that Thomas had to deal with was familiarization. Thomas groped under Stevens' system so the offseason could be a lot of help. With a lot of luck and hard work, Thomas could be moved up though there is no guarantee of that for now.
Hopefully Thomas can settle down in Boston and help the team's cause. Their surprising appearance in the 2014-15 NBA playoffs is a good sign and hopefully with more help on the way, Thomas and the Celtics can move on to greener pasteurs and recall the Celtics' winning tradition.
