The session at the University of Utah’s sparkling practice facility came and went without any movement, but Thomas’s point was taken. Coach Brad Stevens recalled how he was headed to a team meeting near last season’s trade deadline, and then suddenly Thomas, Jonas Jerebko , and Gigi Datome had been acquired in the frenetic final minutes.

“Hopefully nobody gets traded, but with the NBA you never know what will happen,” point guard Isaiah Thomas said. “Somebody might get traded after this practice.”

SALT LAKE CITY — With Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline looming, the Celtics reconvened Wednesday evening for the first time since the All-Star break. Last season at this time the team was in the midst of a substantial reconstruction. This season has, to this point, been far more stable. But the Celtics are aware that feeling can change suddenly.


“I had a team that I was talking to with no change and then answered my phone and all of a sudden we had a few announcements to make, so it’s unique,” Stevens said. “It’s a difficult thing from an emotional standpoint to deal with. So that’s why there’s probably always anxiety around every team at this time of year.”

The Celtics are 32-23 and in third place in the Eastern Conference, so there is certainly less urgency to make sweeping changes. Still, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has made it clear he will continue to hunt for a seismic trade.

At this point it would be surprising if such a deal came on Thursday, though. The Celtics are understandably reluctant to give up valuable assets to acquire a player who will become a free agent at season’s end. And as of late Wednesday night, a league source indicated that no deal was imminent.

The current players understand they have no control over these matters, so they will continue to focus on the challenges that await in the season’s second half.


“You can’t control it anyway, so you’ve just got to stay within what you know how to do,” forward Jae Crowder said. “And that’s come in, work, come do your job, and let the rest of it take care of itself. But it’s out of our reach, it’s out of our control. So you really don’t need to stress it . . . When it’s over, guys take a deep breath and get locked in and finish the season.”

The Celtics were generally hopeful that the team’s core would remain intact.

“Chemistry is everything, camaraderie is everything,” guard Evan Turner said. “It would be something special if they made a trade and someone fit in right away, but there’s an adjustment period to everything and people have to get acclimated. We’re a pretty close-knit group, and at the end of the day, whether it’s basketball or not, you’ll be missing the person you’ve seen the whole year.”

The Celtics will be without forward Kelly Olynyk for at least the next three games. Stevens said Olynyk is still very sore after injuring his right shoulder last Wednesday and he is getting a second opinion from a doctor in Los Angeles. Stevens said Olynyk would not play during the Celtics’ three-game trip.

Olynyk suffered the injury after colliding with Clippers center DeAndre Jordan in the Celtics’ overtime win. The team had thought he would return after the All-Star break.


“He’s very sore, so that’s why he’s seeking a second opinion,” Stevens said. “What we saw was a bruise . . . and we’ll see and go from there.”

Turner tribute

Turner had his jersey retired during a ceremony at Ohio State on Tuesday night, and Ainge and forward Jared Sullinger were among those in attendance. When Turner, who will be a free agent at season’s end, addressed the crowd at the ceremony, he made a joke about Ainge paying him this summer. On Wednesday, Turner smiled and explained his thought process.

“I saw him and I thought it was kind of cool that Danny showed up,” Turner said. “Then I thought about it — Danny, I’ll let you be the first person to offer me a lot of money. I gave him first dibs and repaid him in that sense. He showed a couple of pump fakes like, I might come out there, and I was like, cool. I really appreciate Danny for doing that.”

Weekend a trip

Thomas said he has been able to reflect on taking part in his first All-Star Game last weekend.

“It’s something I definitely want to do every year,” he said. “I’m not satisfied with just making it one time. I want to be like LeBron [James] and those guys where every All-Star Weekend you’re looking forward to playing in that game. It’s something I’m going to work towards and just try to reach and make another goal for myself.”

Thomas said he became friendly with fellow All-Stars that he did not know very well previously.


“I know some of them but getting to know all those superstar-type guys, it was amazing,” he said. “They really showed me a lot of love. LeBron, I didn’t know how cool of a guy he was. Carmelo [Anthony] was talking to me a lot, and also Russell Westbrook.

“It’s funny because me and Westbrook always get into it in games and we don’t know each other that much. But he was the guy who always seemed to come up and talk to me and congratulate me.”

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Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.