Kelly Olynyk refutes report Isaiah Thomas is a bad teammate

On the idea Isaiah Thomas is or was a bad teammate, Kelly Olynyk has stepped up to refute it.

Another blockbuster move of this NBA offseason game Tuesday night, with the Cleveland Cavaliers sending Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, two other players and a draft pick. On Wednesday, FS1 NBA insider Chris Broussard (h/t to NESN.com) passed along that some of Thomas’ Celtics teammates “weren’t really that fond” of him.

Thomas was a fan favorite in Boston, surely due in part to his diminutive size. But he was also incredibly productive on the offensive end, averaging 28.9 points per game last season. If the Celtics were going to find an upgrade at point guard in a trade, it basically had to be Irving.

Broussard invites questions about the “sources” of his reports, often piggybacking on other reports during his time at ESPN. This time around, a former teammate of Thomas’ is refuting Broussard’s supposed insight.

Olynyk played with Thomas for two-plus seasons in Boston, before he signed a four-year, $50 million free agent deal with the Miami Heat this summer. That was all of Thomas’ time with the Celtics, so Olynyk witnessed Thomas’ evolution into a star and can pass as an authority on how he is as a teammate.

It is interesting that no other of Thomas’ now former Celtics’ teammates have taken to defending him or refuting Broussard’s report yet. Here’s the clip of what Broussard’s said about Thomas on “Undisputed” Wednesday morning.

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It’s easy for smear campaigns to start when a player is gone from a team, and there may even be a vein of truth to Thomas being a bad teammate as his profile has risen. Broussard is just passing along what he’s told, with whoever his source is knowing fully well he has a platform on television to pass along rumors and give “hot takes” more than report actual meaningful news.