Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas. (Photo : Getty Images)
Boston Celtics playmaker Isaiah Thomas believes he is one of the NBA's elite point guards based on statistics while team president and general manager Danny Ainge is said to be confident about his club's decisions in the current summer trade market.
CBS Sports reported that the 27-year-old Thomas is not only confident that the Celtics "will be one of the best teams in the league next season" but that the six-year pro is also positive that he is one of the "best point guards in the NBA" last season, referring to league statistics as proof.
"All I'm going to say is men lie, women lie, numbers don't." said Thomas during a recent interview when asked how he would rank himself among the elite point guards in the league.
"My numbers stack up against all those other guys, those other top superstar guys, I guess you'd say. At the end of the day, I'm just going to continue to work and continue to show that I'm just as good as any other point guard in the NBA," he added.
The report then mentioned that Thomas is "not that wrong" about blowing his own horn as the numbers are truly saying that he is indeed one of the best at his position in 2015-2016.
The former Washington standout was named as an All-Star for the first time in February and was the Celtics' main man and leader in the team's second consecutive playoff appearance this year.
He averaged a career-high 22.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 6.2 assists playing 32.2 minutes a night in 82 games for head coach Brad Stevens last season. His touch is also efficient, shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The article noted that Thomas' numbers are quite good that they are comparable to what Kyrie Irving has contributed to the reigning NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers last season. Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was also mentioned in comparison.
Meanwhile, Ainge commented on the recent criticisms he received from Celtics fans that the team has not done enough in the trading market this summer after being involved in a number of rumors since last month.
MassLive indicated that Boston fans were "displeased" that "nothing came of those rumors", which had mentioned big-name rising stars such as Jimmy Butler and Jahlil Okafor.
"We were aggressive in trade talks but those depend on price," Ainge said. "We were just trying to make the best decisions we can. We're trying to get a star but price matters."
"If our fans saw the prices on some of the trades, they'd say 'Yeah they made the right decision'," he said.
"It's hard to improve via trade on the guys we have. You can't just go pick up guys better than Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder - they usually aren't available. We feel good about our players," the GM added.
