Isaiah Thomas says Celtics would've won NBA title if he stayed

March 19 (UPI) -- Denver Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas says the Boston Celtics would've "probably won a championship already" if he was still with the franchise.

Thomas, 30, made the comments after the Nuggets beat the Celtics 114-105 Monday at TD Garden in Boston. The two-time All-Star played was traded to Boston during the 2014-2015 season. He left Boston when he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in August 2017.

He averaged a career-high 28.9 points per game during his 2016 campaign in Boston. The Celtics never advanced past the Eastern Conference Finals during Thomas' tenure with the team, losing two out of three years to LeBron James' Cavaliers.

Thomas has dealt with lingering hip issues for years. He had surgery in 2018.

"We would've probably won a championship already," Thomas told reporters Monday, when asked what could have been if he stayed. "But, it was tough when it [being traded] happened because it was out of nowhere. I was hurt, if I was able to play off the bat, off the trade, I think it would have been easier to get through that."

Thomas played a combined 32 games in the season after leaving Boston. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after playing the first 15 games of the 2017-2018 season for the Cavaliers. Thomas signed with the Nuggets in July as a free agent. He is averaging 7.7 points, 1.7 assists and 1.2 rebounds per game in 10 appearances this season for the Nuggets.

He did not score, but had two assists in 6:50 of action Monday against the Celtics.