Isaiah Thomas making NBA comeback, signing with Suns

The point guard played in Boston for just over two seasons, joining the team at the trade deadline in 2015 and blossoming into an All-Star over the next two years before the Celtics traded him in 2017. He also became a beloved player among Celtics fans during that time, having one of the best stretches of play in NBA history for a player shorter than 6 feet as he scored 28.9 points per game in the 2016-17 season. He finished fifth in MVP voting that year as the Celtics made the Eastern Conference finals.

But late in that season, Thomas suffered a hip injury that eventually sidelined him for the remainder of the postseason. The injury derailed his career, missing the first few months of the 2017-18 season with the Cavaliers before they traded him to the Lakers. He bounced around over the next four seasons, having stints with six different teams, undergoing hip surgery twice during that span.

There was some prior criticism toward Danny Ainge and the Celtics for the way they handled Thomas’s hip injury and for trading him. However, Thomas said he’s made amends with Ainge, who’s now the CEO of the Jazz, crediting him for allowing him to join their G League team.

“We chopped it up a few times,” Thomas said in a recent interview with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

“Danny, he helped make this thing happen. He connected the dots. [Stars general manager] Marquis [Newman] welcomed me in with open arms. They’re just letting me be me, and I’m just super thankful.”

When the Celtics stopped in Utah recently as part of their five-game road trip, Joe Mazzulla and other members of the staff actually watched one of Thomas’s games. That led to some speculation that a possible reunion could be in store as Boston has an open roster spot.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. But Thomas still has strong feelings for the city where he became an NBA star.

“It’s real love,” Thomas told Washburn. “As you know, Boston love is real. Don’t matter what happened in the past. All those guys communicate with me still. I’m always locked in on Celtics games. That was a big part of my life. That was an important time in my life as well, so it’s always going to be love for everybody who’s in that organization that was a helping hand to me and my family. I appreciate the support. That [expletive] goes a long way.”

Now with the Suns, this won’t be Thomas’s first stint in Phoenix. He signed with them in the 2014 offseason, playing 46 games with the team before being traded to the Celtics.

This time around, Thomas looks to provide depth for a Suns team that’s seeking to make a deep postseason run. But they’ve dealt with injuries for much of the season as they don’t have much depth beyond their three stars (Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal), causing them to hold a 39-28 record and sit in sixth place in the Western Conference.