Report: Isaiah Thomas might be out until All-Star break because of hip
By John Buhler
The Cleveland Cavaliers may have gotten a raw deal in the Kyrie Irving trade, as point guard Isaiah Thomas could be out half the year due to his hip injury.
In what was the late summer blockbuster no one saw coming, the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to send disgruntled superstar Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics. The main piece Cleveland got in return was diminutive point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Both are seen as top-tier point guards in the league, especially on the offensive end for their elite scoring ability. However, it may seem that the Cavaliers are getting a rawer deal than originally thought.
The Athletic reports that Thomas could be out through the All-Star break due to the hip he injured in the 2017 NBA playoffs. Thomas missed the last two games of the Eastern Conference Finals for the Celtics due to this hip injury.
From Jason Lloyd’s post for The Athletic, “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.”
With this being the last year of LeBron James’ contract with the Cavaliers, Thomas’ injury could be devastating for Cleveland’s chances to earn a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference and get back to the NBA Finals.
Cleveland did sign Derrick Rose and Jose Calderon this offseason to add depth to the point guard rotation. However, neither are starting level players any more in the NBA. Cleveland did get other assets in the trade like Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a 2018 first-round pick that once belonged to the Brooklyn Nets.
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Thomas’ hip injury was massively underreported during the offseason. With him in a contract year as well, it will cost him money in this summer’s negotiations. While he played like a max player in 2016-17 for the Celtics, what have the Cavaliers gotten themselves into in this trade?