Your Morning Dump... Where Isaiah Thomas is an All Star

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Celtics 5-foot-9 point guard Isaiah Thomas earned his first All-Star appearance Thursday as a coach-voted reserve with the Eastern Conference for next month’s game in Toronto. Thomas, the 60th overall pick in the 2011 draft, becomes the lowest-selected draftee ever voted to the All-Star Game since the NBA went to two rounds in the draft in 1989.

Earlier this month ESPN.com spotlighted Thomas’ quest to become the greatest player ever under 6 feet. In landing on the All-Star squad, Thomas joined Barros on an index of only nine players listed under 6 feet who have been invited to play in the All-Star Game. What’s more, Thomas is only the second player in league history to earn an All-Star invite at 5-foot-9 or shorter, joining Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy.

Even though Thomas is competing in only his fifth NBA season, being an All-Star thrusts him a little deeper into the conversation about the best little guys to ever play in the NBA. Thomas already ranks 14th in career win shares among all 125 players under 6 feet in league history and could be knocking on the door of the top 10 by season’s end.

ESPN Boston

The 26-year-old said one of his workouts earlier this week was interrupted by Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown.

Brown’s message?

“You’re playing like an All-Star. You’re unbelievable.”

“I’ve never had that before,” said Thomas, who will be just the second player in NBA history under 5-foot-10 to make the All-Star team, and the first since Calvin Murphy in 1979. “I’ve always had peers show respect for me. But for other coaches to do it, to say I play like an All-Star and I deserve it, it means a lot.”

MassLive

I have been and remain deeply cynical about the All Star Game–especially the fan balloting process. Thus, it’s quite refreshing to see the enthusiasm Isaiah Thomas has for this recognition. He certainly seems to be a different player than the one that the media portrayed toward the end of his time Sacramento and Phoenix.

Page 2: Everyone is happy for Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah gathered with his family for the 7 p.m. broadcast and told his two young sons, James and Jaiden, that their father was about to be on television. Then the show began and Thomas was not among the first names announced.

“They were mad because it was taking so long,” Thomas said in a telephone interview late Thursday night. “So they went to go play with their toys.”

When Thomas finally showed up on the screen as an All-Star, the magnitude of the moment hit him. And his phone began to buzz and did not stop.

He heard from boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. He heard from All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, and Kyle Lowry. He heard from fellow Seattle-area pros Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Brandon Roy, and Nate Robinson. He heard from old teammates and staff members from the Kings and the Suns. He heard from Celtics coach Brad Stevens, and his group text message string with his Celtics teammates exploded.

…

“It’s crazy to get this much love,” he said. “Everybody’s just so happy for me, and I’ve never been in a situation where just from top to bottom guys are genuinely happy for me. It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s a blessing.”

…

“This is really more than a dream,” James Thomas said by phone from Tacoma. “This is like a fantasy or something. I’m just walking around the house smiling and smiling and knowing this is my son, my kid.

“As a parent I think I’ve always looked at my son as a superstar who never got the full respect as one, even though he was one. It’s always been that he’s too small or too short or this just ain’t gonna work. He’s 5-9; he’s not gonna be able to make it. It’s always been there. It’s just finally the world recognized he’s not just a 5-9 player; he’s a superstar.”

Boston Globe

So I guess this is kind of an all Isaiah Thomas All Star dump because when you get a feel-good story like this, you run with it, right?

And really, unless you’re an Eastern Conference guard on a gigantic contract who got snubbed, how are you not happy for Isaiah Thomas? The guy plays the game the right way. And unlike some people who have the physical assets to play the game, but who do not seem to enjoy playing it very much–if at all (I’m looking at you, Dwight Howard), Isaiah loves playing basketball. He’s a student of the game, and he’s got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder that somehow doesn’t turn him into a jerk when he’s on the court.

Jay King has more here

Page 3: Isaiah Thomas thanks everyone (almost)

I am honored to be selected as an all star & represent the @Celtics, Joining the greatest of @Celtics who have played in the all star game

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

I’m VERY GRATEFUL for ALL the SUPPORT I have been given by the greatest fans in the world & of course the @celtics organization. — Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

This is a TEAM award, none of us succeed without our TEAMMATES & their support ON and OFF the court. So thanks to my TEAM and coaching staff

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

Also thanks to the media, you have been very positive and supportive! #GoCeltics — Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

God is Great! #Blessed

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

Special Thanks to all of the coaches that Voted 4 me as an All Star. It is an honor & I will rep the Eastern Conference Right! — Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

IT also took time to lobby for Kelly Olynyk:

Now let’s get @KellyOlynyk into the 3pt contest @NBA #KellyFor3

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) January 29, 2016

Again, I can’t say enough about how nice it is to see IT’s genuine enthusiasm about this.

Finally: Danny Ainge is Quietly Aggressive

One sentence in an ESPN piece by Marc Stein has produced some truly epic twitter art this morning:

Boston has been quietly aggressive, with its well-chronicled array of assets, in search of the splashy move we all know Danny Ainge would love to make.

Report: Ainge “quietly aggressive” https://t.co/ma5cxzfXhW pic.twitter.com/pgPAxAH43x

— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) January 29, 2016

Per @ESPNSteinLine, Ainge is “quietly aggressive”: https://t.co/sZBFADk0Vy pic.twitter.com/ORW4msYzMG

— Bill Sy (@deliberatepix) January 29, 2016

Of course Danny’s quietly aggressive, but as Stein points out, there’s not a lot available for Boston. A trade pitch making the rounds in the early AM courtesy of Zach Lowe is Crowder, Bradley, an unnamed big and two picks, including the 2016 Nets pick, for Blake Griffin. Frankly, I don’t see either team going for that. If you trade Crowder and Bradley, BAM, the Celtics’ whole defensive identity goes out the window, and I don’t think you want to do that for Blake Griffin. Conversely, if you’re Doc, why would you do this deal? Doc the coach wouldn’t like this deal at all, and Doc the coach is, as I think we’re all aware, the boss of Doc the GM.

Also, I don’t think Doc could get out of Jae what Brad gets out of Jae. And I think you can lump IT into that discussion as well. These are two players who have really had a chance to grow and develop in Boston. I don’t know that there are many coaches in the NBA who are smart enough and flexible enough to get as much out of their players as Brad Stevens does (viz. Jordan Crawford).

And by the way, what’s up with Zach Lowe these days? Considering how connected he still is (allegedly) with the Boston front office, his last two Boston trade scenarios have been pretty far out there–fan forum level ‘cut and paste and make the salaries match’ stuff.