Isaiah Thomas Comments on Future Contract Negotiations with Celtics

With the 2016-17 NBA salary cap set at over $94 million along with the numerous huge contracts that have been given out by teams in July, Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas is expecting to cash in.

"They better bring out the Brinks truck," Thomas said Saturday, via A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England. "They're paying everybody else. I gotta get something."

Thomas is coming off his first All-Star appearance and a season in which he posted a career-best 22.2 points per game, as well as 6.2 assists per game. He's a tenacious scorer who relentlessly drives to the basket despite his 5'9" frame:

With two years left on the four-year, $27 million contract he signed as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Thomas is one of the league's best bargains. He's owed $6.6 million and $6.3 million in 2016-17 and 2017-18, per Spotrac.

His coming-out party also had to be a sobering occasion for the Kings and Phoenix Suns, who each dealt him within a seven-month span.

It's a deal that has evidently haunted Suns general manager Ryan McDonough, who in February told Arizona Sports 98.7 (via Michael Singer of USA Today) he would take "a mulligan" on dealing Thomas.

If the Celtics and Thomas don't restructure or extend his contract before it expires in 2018, he could miss out on some big-time bucks, according to Pro Basketball Talk's Dan Feldman.

"By the time Thomas becomes a free agent in 2018, there won't be as much left, because 2016 and 2017 free agents will already be on the books at new-money rates," Feldman wrote. "Thomas will also be 29, and teams aren't rushing to pay 5'9" point guards exiting their primes."

It could be risky for Boston to work out a new contract with Thomas now, especially if he loses a step or two in the coming years.

That doesn't mean Thomas won't get a hefty raise when he hits free agency because he most certainly will if he can replicate last season's play. It just might not be equal to some of the exorbitant signings of the first two weeks of free agency.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.