Fans value and sometimes demand loyalty from players when teams rarely show the same thing.
It was Kenny Smith who ultimately brought up a side of the Isaiah Thomas trade that very few have in the days following Boston’s blockbuster deal. From the moment the Cavaliers and Celtics agreed to a deal involving Thomas and Kyrie Irving, fans have worried about how it affects the teams. That’s no surprise — a fan’s priority usually rests on teams before players.
Here’s what Smith said during an NBA TV interview, bringing up Thomas’ side. It’s different than the tributes and farewells sent Thomas’ way by fans, which was certainly heartfelt but treated his departure as an inevitability, not a choice that was made.
It’s everything I love and everything I hate about the NBA, the trade. Everything I love and everything I hate. I love that teams are making moves, guys are changing places, but I hate the fact that you would trade a guy that would play two days after his sister died. To me, that’s just epic. I just can’t understand ... you talk about guys not having loyalty and things of that nature. I love Danny Ainge, I love the Celtics and what they’ve done, but there’s no way I could fathom that part and pulling the trigger (on that trade.) That’s what I hate about the NBA.
He’s right, because by all accounts, Thomas was a perfect Celtic. He did suit up for a playoff game one day after his sister passed away tragically, although you could argue he didn’t do that for the team but himself, returning to the place that brings him the most comfort. But Thomas’ beloved status on the Celtics went far beyond that.
There was his playing style, featuring dozens of bowling ball-style drives to the rim each game despite his 5’9 frame. His locker room presence, something several teammates attested to after a report claimed he was disliked. The time, later in those playoffs, when he dropped 53 points. How the Celtics had traded down from the first overall pick instead of choosing Markelle Fultz, who some had projected as Thomas’ replacement.
If you want to hear it in the words of one of the biggest Celtics fans out there, here’s what Bill Simmons said on his podcast recapping the Thomas trade:
“I feel sad though. First, I was excited that they traded for [Irving] ... but man, sports is cruel. There is just no loyalty in sports. This is the reverse of KD going from Oklahoma City to Golden State. He’s a traitor, he’s sold out the fans. The flip side of that is sports is a business. This is the example for why [Durant] should do that. Isaiah Thomas, who becomes a folk hero in Boston — every kid under age 15 has his jersey, he has this unbelievable season, he’s an MVP candidate last season, he gets hurt, he plays hurt in the playoffs, has a tragic death of his sister, plays through it anyway, we go through an emotional roller-coaster ride, they finally shut him down in round three, bled Celtic green ... now he’s gone. We have to start there, right?”
That’s the biggest thing in all this. Simmons mentions Kevin Durant, and even the Celtics’ major free agent signing, Gordon Hayward, falls under this category. It’s so easy for fans to scream “DISLOYAL” and “TRAITOR” when their beloved stars choose to leave them, which can peak at extremes like jersey burnings but exhibits itself on a broader scale, too.
It makes sense on a surface level — fans typically love their chosen teams first, and the players on those teams second. They’ll almost always side with the team over a player.
But to the player, there is no distinction. Teams have proved, time and time again, that they will do what’s best for the team, not for the players they employ. It’s only right that players value their own future over a team, too.