Suns trade Isaiah Thomas to Celtics

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The Boston Celtics have acquired point guard Isaiah Thomas from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for shooting guard Marcus Thornton and Cleveland's protected 2016 first-round draft pick. 

Thomas, who's in the first season of a four-year, $27-million contract signed last summer, averaged 15.2 points, 3.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds and a steal in 46 games with the Suns. He's also shooting a career-high 39 percent from 3-point range.

The 26-year-old, coming off of a career-year last season in Sacramento, should see an increased role in Boston after sharing the Phoenix backcourt with fellow point guards Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic through the first half of the season.

Thomas is a quick, score-first guard who can both shoot and finish at the rim, but his decision-making and tunnel vision within the offense can be concerning. In addition, while the effort is usually there, the undersized, 5-foot-9 guard will always be fighting an uphill battle on the defensive end.

The Suns, who also parted with Dragic (and his brother Zoran) on Thursday and acquired Brandon Knight, have cleared some of their logjam in the backcourt while adding future assets in the form of draft picks.

Thornton, who is in the final year of a contract that pays him more than $8.5 million this season, has a reputation as somewhat of an empty scorer, but he's also a proven 3-point shooter (career 36.5 percent) who has converted a career-high 41.9 percent of his attempts this year, good for 13th overall.

The Suns are clinging to a half-game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot, while the Celtics entered the All-Star break only 1.5 games behind the eighth-place Miami Heat in the East.