Report: Isaiah Thomas Told Danny Ainge he Would 'Love to Come Back' to Boston Celtics
In a conversation with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, new Denver Nuggets point guard Isaiah Thomas opened up about his struggles with injuries and his journey in the past two years. Thomas also expressed that, just one year after being traded by the Celtics, he reached out to GM Danny Ainge to see if there was an opportunity to return to Boston.
"S---, I'd have gone back," Thomas says. "I don't hold grudges."
According to Wojnarowski, Thomas spoke with Ainge for 15 to 20 minutes, when he told Ainge: "If the opportunity is there, I would just like to let you know that I'd love to come back."
The 29-year-old guard also spoke about his decision to play through a hip injury during Boston's 2017 playoff run, a choice which potentially cost him a max contract this offseason. Thomas agreed to a one-year deal worth $2 million with Denver earlier this month. He has spent the summer rehabbing in Seattle and Los Angeles.
"If I didn't play in the playoffs, I'd be OK," Thomas says. "I'd be getting paid. I'd be who I am -- who I was. But you couldn't tell me in that moment in time -- with everything I was going through -- that, OK, I should just sit out. I don't think Boston went about it the right way as well.
"But at the same time, it was hard for me to sit out. I just lost my sister, one of the closest people in my life. Basketball was the only thing that was going to help me out. I played until I literally couldn't play anymore. And that was not a good business decision if I was looking in the long term, but I was looking in the 'right now.' That's just what it was."
Thomas played immediately following his sister's death and was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a package for Kyrie Irving in the 2017 offseason.
