The Boston Celtics have had a rough year so far. Currently the team boasts a 26-26 mark and sits seventh in the Eastern Conference.
Before the season began, the Celtics attempted to shore up their deficiencies in the middle by adding Tristan Thompson. Expectations weren’t particularly high, but the hope was that he would be a serviceable big man.
The results have been mixed.
Mediocre on-the-court production aside, there have also been reports that Thompson’s own teammates don’t like him very much.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor and Chris Vernon made this revelation on the Mismatch podcast recently.
“Thompson is not loved in that locker room,” O’Connor said before the trade deadline.
“The level of … out-ness on Tristan Thompon is unbelievable,” Vernon added. “They’ve got to get rid of him.
“What made you feel that?” O’Connor wondered.
“I feel that has been a disaster,” Vernon said. “… From what I was told, he won’t stop going out. He just goes out, and of course he’s breaking the protocols. He’s not testing positive for this stuff, right? You’re not getting the contact tracing and all the stuff that goes along with this. … He doesn’t want to play.”
This week, Thompson responded to the critique.
“That guy, Kevin O’Connor — I don’t know if I should mention his name or not, because he doesn’t deserve my two cents, but I remember every name because I am like an elephant,” Thompson said. “So, with him saying I’m not liked in the locker room, that was funny, because that’s not the case.”
Thompson didn’t stop there, though.
“I’m used to it,” Thompson said. “Why not mention my name? Especially with our team going through and up-and-down season like everyone is trying to say. So it makes sense to point out one of the better guys.
“But [Jaylen Brown] and Kemba [Walker] came in and had their tweet. Kemba doesn’t ever tweet and he tweeted that, and JB came and did the same thing. That guy just wanted clickbaits. You’re welcome, Kevin O’Connor, for using my name. Got you some more hits and some retweets.”
Thompson is currently averaging 7.9 points and 8.4 rebounds on the season. While he definitely has more game off the court than on it, he’s the least of Boston’s troubles.
Between Danny Ainge slowly losing his mind and this week’s COVID vaccination debacle, the Celtics are an absolute mess right now.
This Thompson-O’Connor feud is just icing on the cake.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
