NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Boston Celtics

2. Gauge the trade market for Isaiah Thomas

Trading Isaiah Thomas may seem a bit blasphemous at first but let’s break down the possibility a bit further. Thomas, an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018, will be seeking a big-time extension that could be worth upwards of $200 million. Is Danny Ainge comfortable giving Isaiah Thomas a max deal? Probably not, so you have no choice but to try to gauge his trade value. You could always let Isaiah play out the final year of his contract next year but it makes little sense to let him leave for nothing if you don’t plan on paying him a big time extension.

It might make more sense to pay Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart considering the pair of guards will also join Thomas as players available on the market in 2018. Bradley will become an unrestricted free agent while Smart will be a restricted free agent. It’s not a hot take to call the Celtics a better defensive team without Isaiah Thomas on the floor, but is it possible that Boston is better on the offensive end without Isaiah too?

If this Cleveland series has taught us anything, it’s that the Celtics can’t beat the Cavaliers with Isaiah Thomas. Unlike other teams in the East, head coach Brad Stevens was able to hide Isaiah Thomas on defense throughout the playoffs on the defense. Whether it was putting Thomas on Rajon Rondo or Otto Porter, Boston was able to make up for Thomas’ defensive woes by sticking him on limited offensive players. When it was time to play the Cavs, there was no hiding Thomas as Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, and so on abused the Celtics defensive unit with Isaiah on the floor. Boston was outscored by 54 points in the six quarters that Thomas played in.

Boston hasn’t had the troubles scoring that many people anticipated after Isaiah Thomas left with the hip injury. Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue even said Boston’s unit without Thomas has been tougher to guard than the dangerous Golden State Warriors squad (as silly as that sounds).

"“I don’t even think about them,” Lue said of the Warriors to a small group of traveling Cleveland beat writers following the Cavs’ Game 4 win Tuesday. “We’re just focused on Boston. The stuff they’re running, it’s harder to defend than Golden State’s [offense] for me, as far as the actions and all the running around and all the guys who are making all the plays, so it’s a totally different thing.”"

With Markelle Fultz on the way, the Celtics have a true replacement for Isaiah Thomas next year. The question also remains whether Fultz and Thomas will be able to coexist at the same time on the floor? Keeping Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart just makes much more sense going forward in terms of defensive ability, the fit playing with Markelle Fultz off the ball, and from a cost perspective when it’s time to pay these guys.