After the hip injury to Isaiah Thomas complicated the trade between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers for a few days, the transaction has now officially gone through after Boston added a future second round pick. After Kyrie Irving was introduced by the Celtics yesterday, Thomas is now also close to reporting to his new team and he should arrive in Cleveland within the next few days.
Obviously, his first priority is getting himself back to full health and focused on his game after what must have been a bittersweet off-season. The first step towards getting himself back into game shape is kicking off the rehab process which he is set to begin early this week according to Cleveland.com:
New Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas is set to arrive Sunday and begin his rehab work on his injured right hip with team doctors and training staff on Tuesday.
The Cavs don’t have a timetable of return for Thomas, the 5-9, two-time All-Star who was the biggest name player Cleveland received in exchange for Kyrie Irving. Multiple sources told cleveland.com the team “is not going to rush it” with Thomas, but is optimistic he’ll return to the court in the 2017-18 season and play at his usually high level.
While it’s a good sign that Isaiah Thomas will immediately begin working on his rehab, the Cavs may still not have their dynamic point guard at their disposal until after the All-Star break.
Now in Cleveland, Thomas will be an integral part of the Cavs formula to run through the Eastern Conference again and put up a fight against whoever comes out of the West, likely Golden State. While it’s been no secret that Thomas isn’t exactly ecstatic about the trade, it’s also clear that the explosive 5’9″ floor general is committed to doing whatever it takes to get healthy and back on the court for the Cavs.
