The Phoenix Suns have been struggling to create a stable core roster even before the NBA seasons started. With the basketball squad's failed attempt at signing LaMarcus Aldridge, who is now with the San Antonio Spurs, the Tyson Chandler squad is eagerly waiting for another big star to get into the free agency market. To add to the Phoenix Suns' roster issues, the release of problematic player Markieff Morris, albeit emotionally appeasing to both parties, caused a huge void in their lineup.
Recent reports disclosed that it was not only who left a gaping hole in the Phoenix Suns roster. In an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Ryan McDonough shared that the move to trade Isaiah Thomas to the Boston Celtics was something the team regretted. The Phoenix Suns general manager even went on to admit that the deal was a "mistake."
"I think in retrospect trading Isaiah Thomas when we did was a mistake," said McDonough. He added, "I think, sometimes in the recruitment process, things sound better in July than they do in November. He wanted more, he wanted a bigger role, and I understand why. He's a talented player. In retrospect, we should have carried him into the summer. If there's one [move] that stands out, if I could get a mulligan, that'd be it."
McDonough and the Phoenix Suns front office opted to trade Thomas to the Boston Celtics for Marcus Thornton along with a first-round NBA draft pick. The move came after the Lorenzo Brown squad signed Thomas to a four-year agreement. The decision was a bit of shock especially since the 27-year-old point guard only managed to play 46 games for the Phoenix Suns.
The comments from McDonough, although a tad too late, still brought joy to Thomas. The Boston Celtics responded via ESPN, "It felt good to hear him finally say that." He added, "Like I always say, I'm focused here on the Celtics. I'm not focused on what happened in the past. When I saw that this morning, it was nice to see somebody say something like that."
Amid the rave reviews he received from his recent performance this NBA season, Thomas is still looking forward to getting better and improving his game. He said, "My next goal is that I want to be All-NBA. I always try to find things to motivate me. I'm a goal-orientated guy who tries to reach all of the goals. That's my next step."
The latest game that had Thomas hailed as a rising NBA star is the one they played against the Milwaukee Bucks. Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens noted that the point guard adjusted well to the team and was quite impressive thinking on his feet. Moreover, Thomas smoothly managed to mesh with teammates Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder. In fact, it was the latter who assisted Thomas in what is currently called his "best" performance.
"I thought it was the best that [Thomas has] played -- or one of the best games he's played -- against that kind of length," said Stevens. He added, "In that moment, and they were blitzing and they were trying to keep a bunch of long bodies on him, they switched some, and he just made the right play, whether it was a pull-up, whether it was a drive, whether it was the right pass at the right time. I just thought he did a really good job of that. So he was huge in that five-minute stretch [to close the game]."
