Thomas bolsters Celtics backcourt
— -- Let's take a look at how the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns did in their trade Thursday. Here's a breakdown of the deal:
Celtics get: Guard Isaiah Thomas
Suns get: Guard Marcus Thornton, Cleveland's 2016 first-round pick
Boston Celtics: B+
Credit Celtics president Danny Ainge for some of the most masterful use of a trade exception we've ever seen. When Boston traded Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Gerald Wallace to the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2013, the Celtics structured the trade such that they created a trade exception worth the difference between Pierce's salary ($15.3 million) and incoming guard Keith Bogans' ($5.0 million).
A year later, Boston used that exception to help the Cleveland Cavaliers clear the cap space necessary to sign LeBron James, taking on Thornton's contract in a three-team trade -- at a price. The Celtics extracted from the Cavaliers both center Tyler Zeller and a 2016 first-round pick. Now, seven months later, Boston used that pick and Thornton's expiring contract to land Thomas from Phoenix. Voila! A trade exception has turned into two useful members of the Celtics' rotation.
Giving up a first-round pick for a player available in free agency last summer isn't typically ideal, but the NBA market has changed in that span. With the salary cap set to escalate quickly when the new TV deal kicks in before the 2016-17 season, players under reasonable long-term contracts have become more valuable than ever. Thomas' salary decreases over the life of his four-year, $27 million contract. So while he's getting paid 11.5 percent of the team salary cap this year, come 2016-17 he figures to be making less than 7.5 percent of it -- equivalent to about $5.3 million today.
That two teams have now given up on Thomas in seven months demonstrates he's a polarizing player. His lack of size defensively and shoot-first style on offense make Thomas a difficult fit for some teams. But if Boston is willing to live with those weaknesses, Thomas will offer them efficient scoring. If things play out correctly down the stretch, Thomas could produce a .574 true shooting percentage for the fourth consecutive season. (He's currently at .579, and league average is .535.)
The Celtics should have a three-guard rotation with Thomas joining starters Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley. Smart has spent most of his rookie season playing off the ball, and Bradley is more comfortable without it, so that works -- although a Smart-Thomas backcourt will be tiny.
Phoenix Suns: C
Three point guards turned out to be too many for the Suns. So when they acquired Brandon Knight after dealing away Goran Dragic, Thomas was still the odd man out. I'd have kept Thomas because of his team-friendly contract, but in the grand scheme of things, this is an excellent piece of business for Phoenix.
The Suns gave up merely the rights to 2013 second-round pick Alex Oriakhi (No. 57 overall) to acquire Thomas in a sign-and-trade deal last summer, then turned him into a first-round pick -- albeit one likely to fall at the end of the round.
If he sticks around, Thornton could actually have some value to Phoenix's still-ongoing playoff push. He's been a useful volume scorer this season, though his skills are somewhat redundant with Gerald Green.
