Isaiah Thomas is officially a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the speculation about his injured hip is far from over.
The 28-year old All-Star point guard has remained confident that he'll be back and he'll be the same player, but the question is: when? According to a recent report by Jason Lloyd for The Athletic, it was revealed that Isaiah still isn't able to run and "no one is willing to put a timeline on when Thomas might return to the court."
Furthermore, Lloyd writes that sources who have experienced the same type of hip injury that is hampering Isaiah Thomas believe he could be out until January, or possibly the NBA All-Star break in mid February.
In a recent interview with Adrian Wojnarowski, Isaiah Thomas noted that he might not be back as soon this season as everyone would like. Per ESPN,
"I am not damaged," Thomas told ESPN on Tuesday. "I'll be back, and I'll be the same player."
"There's never been an indication that I wouldn't be back, and there's never been an indication that this is something messing up my career," Thomas told ESPN. "Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I'm going to be back, and I'm going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that."
"I haven't had one doctor tell me that this injury is going to hurt my career," Thomas said.
Thomas' ailing hip was the reason why Cleveland held up the trade with Boston until they ultimately agreed to kick in an extra 2020 second round pick in addition to Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected 2018 first round pick. With LeBron James set to become a free agent at the end of this season, it's the Nets' 2018 pick that Cleveland wanted most in hopes that they can quickly rebuild if he leaves.
Jason Lloyd writes,
"Thomas was never the focal point of these negotiations from the Cavs’ perspective, one source with knowledge of the talks told The Athletic. From the start, the Cavs made clear to the Celtics that James’ uncertain status beyond this season left them prioritizing restocking the cupboards in the event he leaves again. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert remains fixated on James’ future, one source told The Athletic. Had he gotten James to commit beyond this season, this Irving trade might have looked drastically different."
The Cavs will open up the NBA season at home on October 17th against Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics, unfortunately it seems highly unlikely Thomas will be suiting up against his former team.
