Everyone loses in bizarre Celtics-Pierce-Thomas triangle

First, they would. Then they wouldn't. Then they would, but later. Then they reconsidered. Then Paul Pierce said no.

Now they won't.

The Boston Celtics had long hoped to make amends for their less-than-impeccable timing in dealing away Isaiah Thomas this past summer to the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the time, Thomas was still nursing a hip impingement and labral tear, an injury aggravated in May when he tried to carry the Celtics deep into the playoffs - the same playoffs in which he decided to play Game 1 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls a day after learning of the tragic death of his sister Chyna.

"After everything I went through ... you're not supposed to do that," an incredulous Thomas succinctly told The Players' Tribune.

But, the NBA is a business, and the Celtics acted as such. Eventually, they decided they wanted to tip their cap to a man who led the Celtics to back-to-back playoff appearances following a combined 65-99 record in their previous two seasons. They planned a video tribute for Thomas for Jan. 3, but he was still recovering from injury in his first return to the Garden, so he politely asked them to postpone it until their next meeting: Feb. 11.

That, however, would have coincidentally fallen on the club's planned jersey retirement for Pierce, who is undoubtedly a more prominent Celtics figure than Thomas, but what should have been a simple matter resolved behind close doors has quickly devolved into an unnecessarily elongated disaster for everyone involved.

For his part, Pierce comes off looking incredibly petty. The night was always going to be his and nothing is taking that away from him, especially not what will essentially be a glorified PowerPoint presentation meant to simply let the fans and Thomas know that his massive contributions to the franchise in such a short period of time haven't been forgotten.

Pierce will always be an icon in Boston. Prior to the advent of the team's "Big Three" of Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, Pierce was the Boston Celtics. He soldiered through some absolutely awful sides during his time before Garnett and Allen showed up, and so he deserves all the recognition he can handle, something he will experience in due time when he's inevitably inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. But "The Truth" firmly denying the Garden crowd of their chance to finally thank Thomas is outright nonsensical considering so much of his career was spent giving Celtics fans something to cheer for.

Ainge's role in all this can't be overlooked, either. Boston's president of basketball operations has flip-flopped so often on where he stands with Thomas that you'd be justified in questioning whether he really wanted this video tribute at all. Following the point guard's public disbelief at the trade, Ainge questioned Thomas' reaction, revealing he was nonplussed at what he and the team even owed him, if anything at all. Eventually, logic prevailed and he decided to do right by Thomas with the tribute, but Ainge should have put his foot down a long time ago before letting Pierce and Thomas sway his decisions.

Ainge's indecisiveness opened up the floor to debate, and some, like former Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, gladly took the microphone. Rondo, who is a friend of Pierce, tore into the premise of Thomas' tribute after his New Orleans Pelicans defeated Boston on Tuesday, asking why an organization with such lofty standards was even honoring a player who only took them into the Eastern Conference finals. His remarks, valid or not, run in contrast to the modesty shown by Thomas throughout the whole ordeal.

To Thomas' credit, he's said all the right things while standing directly in the spotlight. In his first trip back to Boston, he acknowledged that he and Ainge were once again on speaking terms, painting the relationship between the two in a much better light. When the diminutive ball-handler realized his innocent request to have his family in attendance for the tribute was causing too much of a stink, he humbly reversed course and urged the Celtics to fully devote themselves to Pierce's jersey retirement instead. Thomas wasn't the one who scheduled Pierce's ceremony for Feb. 11 (it's quite possible he had no idea of its date when he asked for his tribute to be postponed) and the fans now don't have a dedicated opportunity to commemorate what he did for them.

All of it only reinforces Thomas' image as a criminally unappreciated player who played his heart out for Boston, only to be quickly forgotten at the end of it all.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)