Isaiah Thomas was asked recently about his detractors, those who believe he’ll never be the best player on a great team because of his size.

The Celtics point guard responded by saying that he if can withstand the trash talk of Hall of Famer Gary Payton, he can absorb any type of criticism.

Payton has been a role model to Thomas for years, since a teenage Thomas attended Payton’s basketball camps while Payton played for the SuperSonics. Payton served as a role model and mentor to many Seattle-area high school products, such as Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Jason Terry, and Nate Robinson.

Because of his fearlessness and scoring prowess, Thomas became a focus of Payton’s tutelage, and the two have remained close.

“When he came out [of the University of Washington] he was very disappointed about being the 60th [and last] pick and they overlooking him because of his size,’’ Payton told the Globe. “I just told him to prove everybody wrong, go out and work every day, every summer come back and get better than the guys that got drafted over him, and go back to Sacramento and do what you do.

“What happened? He took over as a starter. Now he gets traded to Boston and now look what it is, we’re going to back the Brinks truck up to his house and they’re going to have to give him his money [when his contract is up in 2018].’’

Payton is a staunch critic of many of the league’s current point guards but has considerable admiration for Thomas and his journey.

“He works hard, takes it very, very serious, and he proves to everybody that he can do something that people don’t think a 5-foot-9 guy could do,’’ Payton said. “I just give credit to him because he works hard and he proves everybody else wrong.’’

Thomas has become a trash-talker himself. He said he doesn’t start the talk but will respond, and he has backed it up by being a prolific fourth-quarter scorer.

“I got at him all the time in the summers,’’ Payton said. “I tell him, if you talk trash you back it up, and that’s what he does. He’s got an edge to him, he’s got a spunk, he’s got a dog in him. That’s what he does. He’s got a motor and a dog in him and you can’t teach dog. It’s got to come, and that’s what he’s got and he don’t back down from nobody. I told him, if I ever seen him back down from somebody, he’s going to have to see me. And he don’t. That’s where his motor comes from and that’s what I like.’’

Payton was a cornerstone for the Sonics before being traded to the Bucks in the Ray Allen deal in 2003. At the time, Thomas was 14 years old. But it was during those summers when Payton returned to his second home and conducted camps that he bonded with Thomas.

“Those young kids, Jason Terry, Jamal, all of them came back to my camps and they were always telling me about Isaiah,’’ Payton said. “I went to go see him play and he’s just like one of the family. I bring him in like a little brother and he gets to playing and he do what he do.’’

Because of his brilliant tenure with the Sonics, Payton can be credited with the spike of NBA players from the Seattle-Tacoma area, much like Vince Carter’s stardom in Toronto popularized basketball in Canada.

“I feel like I kept in their mind-set goals of getting to the next level,’’ Payton said. “They already had talent. They were already good, but when they came to my camps and see somebody like me, it motivates them to say I want to get where he’s at. I go watch him play and I want to be at the same level. I gave them a platform to come to a camp and do all those skills and work and talk to me and mentor them. That’s what I did. Once I give them the talk, they take the talk and do what they’ve got to do. And all of them have done a great job of that.’’

A HUMBLE KING

James relishes being role model

LeBron James has transformed from teenage prodigy to perennial All-Star to best player of his generation and now to transcendent figure on and off the court.

James has many critics, but he has never been close to in trouble off the floor, and he has embraced his stature, becoming a spokesman of sorts on league and social issues.

So interviews with James cover much more than basketball. He became emotional at All-Star Weekend when asked about his impact on children, which is unquestioned. For a generation it was “Be Like Mike,’’ but for the youth of today, who only know Michael Jordan from YouTube videos, their inspiration is James.

He relishes the opportunity to reach children with his message.

“It’s motivation but also humbling, too,’’ James said. “For me to be a role model to these kids means everything. It’s three groups, my family, then it’s my foundation kids, that I have to make sure I set the right example for them, and then there’s the group of kids that I don’t see or talk to every day, that look for me as an inspiration, look at me sometimes as a father figure or as a superhero, or if LeBron can make it out of the situation he was in maybe we can as well. It’s very humbling and motivating and it’s also a breath of fresh air to know you have the youth and they are our future and they look up to you. I carry that with me every single day.’’

Until Carmelo Anthony was added to the Eastern Conference team to replace the injured Kevin Love, James was this season’s oldest All-Star at 32. Considering he entered the league at 18 and had been considered the face of NBA youth for years, that fact wasn’t lost on him.

“It put everything in perspective as far as where I’ve come from and how long I’ve played this game,’’ he said. “It’s a humbling thing to know that I’m still at an All-Star level. The way I’m playing the game right now at my age as long as I’ve been playing with the miles I’ve been playing and still an All-Star starter, it meant a lot. It was a breath of fresh air when I seen Melo was taking Kev’s spot. It’s pretty cool.’’

And at a time when players complain about too many minutes or seem to tire after 35, James is averaging 37.5 minutes per game and is seventh in the NBA in minutes played. Built like a freight train, James said he has no issue with playing so much.

“I’m comfortable with whatever coach [Tyronn Lue] wants me to do out on the floor,’’ he said. “Whatever he needs me to do, I can figure it out. It’s great to know everyone wants to build their team to try to knock you off, it’s a motivating factor. Train my body, train my mind, work on my game every day. If I’m healthy and feeling good, we’re going to have a chance.’’

ETC.

Age limit a focus for commissioner

With the collective bargaining agreement squared away for the next seven years and the NBA experiencing a financial boon with the new television deal, there isn’t much for commissioner Adam Silver to lament.

Yet there are sticking points that need to be addressed, such as the minimum age of 19, a topic that was tabled during the CBA negotiations. The owners want the age limit raised to 20. The union would prefer it lowered to 18, allowing players to enter the draft directly out of high school.

Silver wants the issue to be addressed sooner rather than later, but it could require arduous negotiations. Should the NBA adopt a Major League Baseball-type rule that allows high schoolers to enter the draft, or mandate they attend college for two or three years if they decide to accept a scholarship?

“I think [union head Michele Roberts] and I both agree that it’s the kind of issue that needs to be studied, in essence, outside of the bright lights of collective bargaining,’’ Silver said at All-Star Weekend.

“While our traditional positions have been the league would like to raise the minimum age from 19 to 20, and at least Michele’s stated position is that she’d like to lower it from 19 to 18, I think there’s an acknowledgment that the issue is far more complex than that, and it requires sort of all the constituent groups to be at the table. How is the AAU system working in practice? How is the high school system? What access do coaches have to them once they’re in college under the NCAA rules? Throw in the potential loss of eligibility if we have contact with them at a younger age.’’

For obvious reasons, NCAA coaches — except perhaps Kentucky’s John Calipari — would like to shelve the rule that allows players to enter the NBA Draft after one college season, with many of those prospects disregarding school in the second semester to prepare for the draft.

“I think I have a better understanding of the issue now,’’ said Silver, “as I talk to some of the young players who are coming into our league who have only completed a portion of their freshman year in college, and have a better understanding of what the conditions are for them both academically and in terms of their basketball requirements.

“Remember, at the end of the day — I looked at these numbers recently — just in men’s college basketball, the combination of Division 1, 2, and 3, you have roughly 16,000 players participating in college basketball right now, and I think the five-year — the average over the last five years is roughly eight players coming in as so-called one-and-done players. So I don’t want to overreact to that either, but I think it requires that we take a new look and a new approach to the issue.’’

Silver also is concerned about the recent travel bans, especially with two NBA players — Thon Maker and Luol Deng — from Sudan, one of the seven nations on President Trump’s list.

“We are a business based on global mobility,’’ said Silver. “Twenty-five percent of our players were born outside of the United States. We do a tremendous amount of business on a global basis, and if you think about what the NBA stands for, it’s, in essence, the very best all coming together, the very best in the world all coming together to perform at the highest level.

“So government restrictions on travel, I am concerned about. It goes against the fundamental values and the fundamental ingredients of what make for a great NBA, and that is the very best in the world coming here. Of the current state of that travel ban, of course, is that it was struck down by the court. So I have nothing to add to that.

“My personal view is that we need to look sort of at specific cases and see how that potentially could impact members of the NBA family and then play whatever role we can in providing information to the government and monitoring the situation.’’

Layups

Celtics fans annoyed by Danny Ainge not making a move at the trade deadline may be appeased by the buyout market. There already are three players available after teams bought out their contracts — Dallas’s Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut, and New Orleans’s Terrence Jones. Jones is a player to watch. He doesn’t possess great offensive skills but he is a dirty-work forward and former first-round pick who has been beset with a series of bizarre injuries over the past few years, including a collapsed lung and nerve inflammation in his left leg. If Jones is healthy, he could be a contributor off Boston’s bench . . . What the DeMarcus Cousins trade may do for the Kings is allow them to finally take an extended look at second-year center Willie Cauley-Stein, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds in the first game after the trade, a win Thursday over Denver. Cauley-Stein spent time in and out of the doghouses of previous coach George Karl and current coach Dave Joerger, but he also played well in Sacramento’s win over the Celtics Dec. 8 and had been waiting for a bigger role . . . The Cousins trade had to be difficult for guard Langston Galloway, who was an unofficial Pelicans representative at All-Star Weekend. The Baton Rouge native made several appearances at All-Star festivities before being dealt the night of the game. And we finally found out why Western Conference coach Steve Kerr played Cousins for just two minutes in the All-Star Game. Kerr said Cousins told him he was “beat up’’ and needed a break, but in reality the Kings and Pelicans were deep in trade talks during the game . . . A player to watch who could soon be joining an NBA roster is guard Quinn Cook, MVP of the D-League All-Star Game. He’s gotten some seasoning with Canton and appears ready for that next step . . . There was little chance that Carmelo Anthony was going to be traded because he showed no desire to waive his no-trade clause, and there was never a deal that made sense for the Knicks. President of basketball operations Phil Jackson will perhaps have to wait until the offseason to make a move or be in roster purgatory because Anthony’s large contract. The Knicks are stuck because they also have the burdensome contracts of Joakim Noah (signed by Jackson), Courtney Lee, Lance Thomas, and Kyle O’Quinn. The rebuilding could take years, if Jackson stays around.

Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GwashburnGlobe. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.