Isaiah Thomas hopes ‘second act’ with Celtics will help him become a GM
Isaiah Thomas is back with the Celtics as a scout nearly nine years after the last time he suited up for them.
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The itch to play hasn’t completely gone away, he said, but he’s taking steps towards a goal of becoming a team executive one day.
“This has not been the easiest transition, first and foremost, because I can still play at a high level,” Thomas said during a recent appearance on his “Point Game” podcast. “But, I’ve still got to look out for what’s best for my future and knowing what I want to do moving forward. So, just getting my feet wet and adding to the resume.”
Last week, Thomas joined the team as a pro and college scout. The Celtics sent Thomas to Cleveland in August of 2018 in the Kyrie Irving trade.
Thomas played with eight more franchises in the six years after leaving the Celtics before ending his career with the Suns in 2024. But, he kept in contact with the Celtics with his post-playing career in mind.
“It’s been in the works for a while,” Thomas said. “We were just tying to make sure everything made sense for both sides.”
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, be a part of an organization, be a part of the front office and help make these decisions that are being made down the line. So this is a step in the right direction in terms of, you know, hopefully one day being a GM or head of basketball operations or whatever the game of basketball takes me.”
Thomas will continue to be based in the Seattle area where he grew up. He’ll contribute to the team’s scouting efforts on the West Coast.
“The Celtics did right by me, they’ve been wanting me to do this for a while, and it was something of interest,” said Thomas. “And we came to something that made sense and it and it still allowed me to be able to do these things like do our podcast, (and) coach my boys, which was very important for me.”
Thomas said he was ‘like a kid in a candy shop’ during his time at the NBA Draft Combine last week in Chicago, where he connected with other scouts and former players.
He mentioned that he sat in on some player interviews, which reminded the 2011 second-round pick of his draft process.
“To go through that process as a player is hectic. You’re a little nervous. You know that they know a lot, but you don’t know what they’re going to ask. So, being in that space as obviously not like a player, and being able to ask questions and really relate to these kids because they know me.
“They don’t always know anybody in the front office, like they know the face of the organization but they don’t know everybody else that is involved in the front office. So, it’s easy for me. I’m able to chop it up with these guys because I can relate to them. Obviously I’m a lot older than them, but I’m still a part of the game.”
The 5-foot-9-inch former All-Star said he hopes to impact the way small guards are scouted while picking up skills that could serve him in the future.
“This is something I can go pro in, a second act to my life,” Thomas said. “Staying around the game of basketball and doing something that I love.”
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