When it comes to trade season, the ever-elusive season-changing trade is in truth more of a historical rarity than it is a regular occurrence. And such can be best illustrated by a recent survey of the best players moved at the trade deadline in the history of the NBA by Hoops Hype’s Frank Urbina.
The assessment, which notes the rarity of true impact players being moved midseason given all of the salary cap and CBA-related roadblocks to doing so, highlights the 15 best players to ever be dealt close to the deadline in their respective seasons, of which just one ended up with the Boston Celtics at No. 9 overall.
For Urbina, that sole Celtic is Isaiah Thomas: “In what was the steal of the 2014-15 trade deadline and perhaps one of the bigger trade-deadline heists in league history, the Boston Celtics picked up Isaiah Thomas from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick.”
Jayen Brown turns to Celtics great Bill Russell when the balance of basketball and advocacy gets tough https://t.co/kDmeqv07YM
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) February 2, 2023
“Thomas would make the All-Star Game twice during his time with Boston and enjoyed nearly MVP-level play for a stretch there,” he adds. “Thomas would average 28.9 points and 5.9 assists with the Celtics in 2016-17, and only saw his play decline due to injury.”
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