Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas (that feels so weird to type) seems determined that his hip injury isn’t serious. The Celtics and Cavs clearly disagree, as does Jason Lloyd of The Athletic:
No one is willing to put a timeline on when Thomas might return to the court. The fact he isn’t even running yet certainly is not a good sign. One source with experience dealing with the type of hip problems Thomas is facing predicted it could be January or even the All-Star break before Thomas returns to game action. That doesn’t leave much time for a new player to establish chemistry and rhythm with a team trying to compete for a championship.
In a separate piece for The Athletic, Lloyd writes:
“No one has any idea how quickly this will heal or if it even will heal at all,” the source said. “It’s hard to predict.”
This could be a career-altering injury for Thomas, but regardless of how severe it is, Thomas wasn’t the center of the trade, from Cleveland’s perspective:
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.
