Isaiah Thomas wants the world to know he stands by a since-deleted tweet that indicated he would try recruiting Kevin Durant to the Boston Celtics this summer.
From Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe:
As Isaiah Thomas sat on his porch at home in Tacoma, Wash., last Monday after watching the Thunder lose Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the Warriors, he had an idea.
The Celtics point guard knows, like everyone else, that Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant will become a free agent this summer. He also knows, like everyone else, that adding Durant to a roster would have a seismic impact.
And in that moment on that porch, he thought it might be a good time to spice up the Durant-to-Boston narrative, no matter how unlikely a prospect it might be. So he grabbed his iPhone, opened Twitter, and posted Durant’s No. 35 next to a green shamrock. It was simple, but not especially subtle.
“I just wanted the world to know, that’s who I’m trying to get,” Thomas said.
Thomas, apparently, wasn’t told to delete his tweet. He just realized it wasn’t the best time to lay out his pitch for the 2013-14 MVP.
Once the clock strikes midnight Eastern Time on July 1, though, the gloves come off.
Most still expect Durant to stick with the Oklahoma City Thunder, even if it’s on a one-plus-one deal that allows him to explore free agency again in 2017, with teammates Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. But should he decide to leave, or should he only wish to hear pitches from a small number of teams, the Celtics stand to be on that short list.
Team president Danny Ainge has stocked the Celtics with picks and prospects and reasonably priced contracts and cap space. Boston can feasibly sign Durant, have some money leftover to flesh out the roster, then still have enough assets to piece together for a blockbuster trade that lands them another superstar.
If you’re Durant, and you’re realistically looking at bringing your talents elsewhere, Boston is one location you have to consider, at least from a competitive standpoint. Plus, it’s nice to be wanted. And Thomas speaks for all of Boston when he proclaims his interest in the former MVP.
