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Thomas Relives Trade to Boston on Deadline Day

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WALTHAM, Mass. – The NBA trade deadline is the most stressful moment of the season for players around league. It’s loaded with uncertainty, unexpected surprises, and of course, rumors galore.

“It’s emotional. It’s tough,” Isaiah Thomas two hours before Thursday’s trade deadline. “But you just gotta understand it’s a business. Anybody can be traded at any point and you gotta just worry about what you can control.”

A player’s life can completely change in an instant.

Thomas knows that feeling all too well.

Just ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the Celtics point guard reflected back on the unanticipated trade that landed him in Boston two years ago.

On the morning of Feb. 19, he woke up a member of the Phoenix Suns; when he went to bed that night, he was a Boston Celtic.

“I was on the bus and we were about to head to the airport to go to Minnesota,” Thomas recalled Thursday afternoon after practice. “We were actually waiting on (Goran) Dragic to get traded because we knew he was. So we were waiting for that (trade with Miami) to be finalized, and then they came back and said I was traded too.”

Thomas walked off the bus stunned, leaving his former Suns teammates behind. He was a man without much of a plan at that point, other than to find his way to Boston.

“I got a couple of pairs of shoes from the (Suns’) locker room and I went home,” said Thomas. “I went to go buy a coat because I knew I was coming to Boston.

“It was tough, though. That’s some (of the) things that people don’t realize. When you get traded, that’s one of the toughest parts in this business.”

The tough part, however, was just beginning. Thomas had to pack up his life and move to a foreign city in the blink of an eye. Being in the middle of an NBA season, he had no time to think, and no time to adjust.

“You don’t know what to expect,” said Thomas. “You don’t know where you’re going to stay. Like when I got here I stayed in a hotel the whole time for the end of that (season). Especially if you’ve got kids and stuff like that, it’s tough on your family. But it’s part of the job.”

Thomas pushed through that challenging period without much issue. He has discovered a home in Boston, and in just two seasons has engrained himself as an iconic image in the sports-driven city.

The trade to Boston has allowed Thomas to flourish as one of the elite scorers in the league. When asked Thursday if that move was the best thing that ever happened to him, Thomas answered without hesitation: “For sure. No question about it.”

Thomas knows as well as anyone how impactful deadline day can be. Not only does it influence an organization’s success; it can also completely change a player’s lifestyle and the trajectory of his career.

Fortunately for Thomas, his move to Boston changed his life for the better, and it has allowed him to join the top echelon of athletes in the NBA.