Al Horford joined the Boston Celtics in 2016 with a number of players in on the sales pitch that are no longer with the franchise. Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart are the only players from the 15-16 Celtics that remain with the team.
"Isaiah (Thomas) and -- well, [Kelly] Olynyk, Jae Crowder, all the guys that are not here anymore -- they just came in and sold me on playing here," Horford said while shaking his head at how much has changed.
"I had a lot of respect for the guys, for how hard they played. When they played us in Atlanta [in the 2016 playoffs], they were competitive, they played hard."
Thomas also helped recruit Gordon Hayward.
"IT did a tremendous job, as far as helping recruit me here to the city of Boston. He talked about Boston as a city, the fans, the organization, the coaches, the people that are involved behind the scenes," Hayward said. "He's just somebody that I was definitely excited about playing with. He's an unbelievable player. He had an unbelievable year last year. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a truth."