The status of Isaiah Thomas is a major concern for the Cleveland Cavaliers now that they have completed their trade with the Boston Celtics.
The Cavs received Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn first-round pick and a 2020 2nd-round pick for Kyrie Irving in a trade completed on Wednesday. Cleveland held out for more compensation after examining Thomas, who is returning from a torn labrum in his hip.
Boston said that they didn’t expect to have Thomas at the beginning of the season, and now there are questions about how long he will be out.
The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd wrote Thursday about the possibility that Thomas might not be able to play for the Cavs until 2018, meaning he would miss the first few months of the regular season.
From Lloyd’s report:
“No one is willing to put a timeline on when Thomas might return to the court. The fact he isn’t 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.”
The reports about Thomas’ status are all over the place and the truth is nobody knows what will happen with him. He swears he is good to go, but increasing speculation seems to point to him missing time to start the season. That’s a concerning sign for the Cavs and their attempts to repeat as Eastern Conference champs, let alone their hopes of dethroning the Warriors.
