Following the decision to move All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas part of the deal that landed the Boston Celtics fellow All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, there has been much talk about how it all came about.

In Thomas' point of view, it was something that came out of left field as he had a strong reaction re-signing on a long-term deal next offseason in free agency. According to Chris Forsberg of ESPN, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge voiced that he believes the 28-year-old has made an everlasting mark on the franchise.

In his 2 1/2 seasons with the Celtics, Thomas helped lead the team to the playoffs in three consecutive years while reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in five years as the top seed in the conference. He was the driving force of Boston that had also developed into one of the premier point guards in the league by earning a pair of All-Star selections in the last two seasons.

All of this had seemingly led to Thomas garnering a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the franchise and its passionate fanbase. At the same time, it also made being traded much more difficult to come to terms with given his strong connection to the Celtics.

However, the NBA is a business where moves and decisions are often times made in spite of the emotional connection that is present in the situation. This is something that Thomas had acknowledged during the offseason but likely felt that he had established something special that could be cultivated further on a long-term scale.

It is a harsh reality that is a part of the world of professional sports, and Thomas' departure from the Celtics was a clear example of just that.