Report: Isaiah Thomas could be out until All-Star break

Report: Isaiah Thomas could be out until All-Star break
WEEI - Ty Anderson

Isaiah Thomas is officially a Cavalier. But more importantly, he’s still injured, and without a clear return date in sight, according to The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd.

"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,” Lloyd wrote. “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.”

It’s believed that Thomas, who was forced out of the Eastern Conference Finals because of his injured hip, has a torn hip labrum (as well as a deep bone bruise), and if that is indeed the case, missing the first three months of the season may actually seems like a borderline best-case-scenario situation for the Cavaliers.

Thomas, meanwhile, recently broke his silence and said he was not “damaged.”

"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 said in an interview with ESPN earlier this week. "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," the 28-year-old Thomas continued. "Surgery was not the best option in this case. I aggravated it in March when [Minnesota's] Karl-Anthony Towns fell on me. I kept playing on it, and making it worse -- until I couldn't play anymore last season."

The Celtics, who spent eight days in trade limbo with the Cavaliers because of concerns over Thomas’ injured hip following his physical in Cleveland last week, sent a 2020 Heat second-round pick to Cleveland as extra compensation over these issues.

112288

As I have written all along, IT needs surgery to repair that torn hip larum, then up to 6 month to heal and rehab. Feb or March should be his return date. I hope he gets on the right track medically. Glad now we have Kyrie.

Yes, Kyrie fell into our lap.  If we had to wait until February All - Star break, who knows where IT would be physically?

It takes 8 weeks to be broken in physically in the NBA so what are we talking....April for IT to be fit.............and that is if he heals properly.

Ainge did the right thing by the trade.  He and the Celtics could not waste a nearly a whole year waiting for IT to play.....and that is if he could play.   Horford would be then 1 year less on his contract and 1 year older.  That goes for other players as well and IT would be a free agent.

With the addition of Haywood, playing in front of Boston fans and the excitement of TD Garden ............that should help retain Kyrie in 2 years and the ability to attract top talent.

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worcester,

I have a good friend who is an ortho surgeon, and he told me that a torn labrum will NEVER fix itself. He claims that even if you are not a professional athlete trying to come back from such an injury that is not operated on will never really recover fully.

It seems very odd to me that the Cs medical team and IT's medical team did not seem to think that surgery was going to be needed to help Thomas get back to being 100% healthy. What were they thinking if they did, indeed, know that the IT had a torn labrum?

Of course, no operation can guarantee 100% full functioning, but if he had been operated on in mid May he would now be three and one half months into recovery and likely would have been cleared to play by Christmas which means that he would have been playing about 75% of the regular season and then the playoffs.

If surgery is going to happen at any time now (or in the near future) he will still be out about six months. Something should have clicked for someone when Thomas is STILL not running after 3.5 months.

With all of the medical knowledge out there I wonder if IT, himself, decided not to have surgery hoping that he would be able to play a full season to put himself in a better position to earn the max salary that he so desires. If this is the case, it appears that he took a big gamble.

worcester wrote:As I have written all along, IT needs surgery to repair that torn hip larum, then up to 6 month to heal and rehab. Feb or March should be his return date. I hope he gets on the right track medically. Glad now we have Kyrie.

No doubt worcester. He may have compromised his opportunity to secure a big payday after the season is completed.

He stated that his Dr recommended no surgery. That may have been very bad advice. If he returns around the Allstar break and starts to play again he could find it impossible to play the same way that he did. He will still be taking hits and putting his body through contortions. His type of injury given his style of play will require surgery at some point.

dboss

I think it's very clear now that, by far, the Celts won in that trade with the Cavs.

Guys, I fully agree. IT followed bad medical advice to his detriment. Back in May we had a healthy IT and no inkling of a thought that we would replace him, much less with a star PG of Kyrie's caliber. How lucky are the Celts now? Thanks to Danny for his amazing foresight to accumulate the assets needed to make this trade possible.

Here's an interesting and detailed article about the IT/Irving trade.
It details a lot about Irvings game.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2730732-kyrie-irving-trade-to-boston-celtics-from-cavaliers-and-lebron-james?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Kyrie is a former #1 pick.

The Celts gave up a potential #1 pick, Crowder, Zizic, and an injured IT.
If you're smart you would do the trade.

Those saying the Celts overpaid for Kyrie are simply not in touch with reality.

tjmakz wrote:Here's an interesting and detailed article about the IT/Irving trade.
It details a lot about Irvings game.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2730732-kyrie-irving-trade-to-boston-celtics-from-cavaliers-and-lebron-james?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

That has to be the most stupid article ever written by a guy who is just fishing for negative stuff on Irving!

112288

112288 wrote:

tjmakz wrote:Here's an interesting and detailed article about the IT/Irving trade.
It details a lot about Irvings game.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2730732-kyrie-irving-trade-to-boston-celtics-from-cavaliers-and-lebron-james?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

That has to be the most stupid article ever written by a guy who is just fishing for negative stuff on Irving!  

112288

He said Irving is probably the best one on one player in the game.
That's quite a compliment.

Irving's game hasn't been about making others better.
He is a premier go to scorer when his team needs him to be.
With Hayward's playmaking abilities, I think Irving will continue to do what he does best, score the basketball.

The article says little new, but my take-away is that Irving is unusually talented and his game can evolve to fit the situation he's in. That's how I read him, and the fact he wanted to move on from Cleveland, to make a new start in Boston, is good news for us. I think DA lucked into this situation when KI said he wanted out, but DA then made sure this one didn't get away. If Kyrie hadn't decided to bolt, we would have been "stuck" with an injured point guard, a potentially ugly situation between Crowder and Hayward, and another year of dreaming about the draft. Instead, now we're off to the races. Hawk

We have to wait a few years, until the Brooklyn pick shows what he's worth, before we can close the books on this trade.  If Cleveland gets the #1 pick, and that pick plays like a #1, then can we say that trading for a #1 made us the winner?  Even if they get the #5 pick and that pick turns out  to be a franchise player, can we say we were the winner?

There's talk the Cavs are already shopping the Brooklyn pick.  Suppose that is the centerpiece for a trade that gets them an All-Star, like the way it was for us?  They get an All-Star, which helps them retain LeBron, and Love and they are still the class of the East.  How does that make us the winner?

I'm not a fan of the draft, I'm the one who calls it the "Annual NBA Crap Shoot", but I'm not oblivious to the allure and market value of a top draft pick.  If Kyrie has a year like IT had last year, and IT was 3rd Team All-NBA, the additional compensation makes this a hard deal for me to see as "even up".  I think Ainge got Ainged, but it's done now and life moves on (unless you're Cowens, then the Perk trade goes on forever :-).

Say one thing for Danny, though, he doesn't give a fat rat's ass what anybody else thinks.  Everybody said "draft Fultz!", he traded down to draft Tatum, and now this controversial deal. The boulder Sisyphus pushed uphill wasn't bigger than our Danny's stones...


bob


.

The article is full of information that puts doubt into a readers mind that Irving is not an all around player, just a shooter and cites many NBA so called experts that say he is an incomplete player. That he cannot carry a team when James is not playing. Well here is a snip of where the author is wrong.

My belief is without James, Cleveland is an ordinary team period, even if you had Westbrook replacing Irving at point.

In regards to ball distribution, the ball goes through James not Irving. James is the facilitator and often a ball hog and will take every shot he sees.

The author of this article cites that the market is soft for Irving and he was not commanding top players................ for give me but what the hell do you expect other GM's to offer when your guy is wanting out of Cleveland! They are not going dollar for dollar or player for player when they smell a fire sale........and Cleveland knew that!

The author also goes on to cite an example of this with the Knicks not wanting to give up Pozingus........an example of teams valuing Irving less. Are you kidding me.......first the Knicks priority and any other team in the league will always place priority on keeping a big man who can also shoot! As Red stated you build your team from the front court out! You can also throw in a friendly rookie salary as to why you keep Pozingus..........not $20 million due Irving! The Knicks are bleeding $$$$ and they may have to buy CA contract out for another chunk of $$$$$$ $30 - $40 million +.

Cleveland knew that IT was damaged goods and so did Danny, take IT out of the equation and the trade is what the trade value should have been, and is very fair > #1 should be top 5, last years Celtic #1 Zizic, and Crowder who in my mind is a hot and cold defender and OK....not great shooter. I'll take Tony Allan on his worst day as a lockdown defender then Crowder on his best day.

Just one man's opinion!

112288

And what are the chances of Brooklyn picks ending up #1 for two straight years.

tjmakz wrote:

He said Irving is probably the best one on one player in the game.
That's quite a compliment.

Irving's game hasn't been about making others better.
He is a premier go to scorer when his team needs him to be.
With Hayward's playmaking abilities, I think Irving will continue to do what he does best, score the basketball.

I think TJ sums it up accurately here.

His statement isn't to say Irving isn't a good player or that it was a bad trade, he's simply pointing out strengths and weaknesses.  Every player has them.  Irving will either be asked to adjust his game to fit Boston, or Boston will decide to alter strategies and schemes to accommodate Irving's strengths.  

It's all good.

fierce wrote:And what are the chances of Brooklyn picks ending up #1 for two straight years.

Fierce,

Well...Brooklyn really does suck

I'm heading for our boat. Can I think about it on deck with a cold beer?

Regards

I would think that the loss of Lopez would give the Nets a decent shot at trailing the pack.

swish

Anyone who wants to point their fingers at the Celtics have to take a step back and remember that IT flew to Seattle for a second opinion. So the complete blam does not fall on Brian McKeon and Ed Lacerte for the decision not to operate.

I really feel terrible for IT, he gave his all for the Celtics, now he is fighting to get on the floor once he gets back =. It is like he has to prove himself all over qgainl

I never take alot of what Bleacher Reports has to put out there. Very few good reporters, mostly bloggers like you and I

Bob, Not to be argumentative, but I think the value of the trade comes down to whether the Celtics go on to glory with Kyrie & Co., not with how the Nets pick performs. Cleveland might not pick the same player that DA would, even if the pick is first, which would seem to be long shot. Anyway, I can hardly wait for this season. Go Celtics! Hawk

Now we read that Cleveland is shopping that Nets pick already. So, I say that putting a lot of the success of this pick on the success of the trade could be moot

swish wrote:I would think that the loss of Lopez would give the Nets a decent shot at trailing the pack.

  swish

Mozgov/D'Angelo Russell for Lopez is basically a lateral move/slight chance to be better depending on if a 21 year old '15 #2 pick improves (hint: he should)

The Nets added Carroll and Crabbe for nothing and used the 22nd pick in the draft on Jarrett Allen, a decent center prospect.

Jeremy Lin also missed 46 games last year, the Nets were noticeably better with him on the court and he's gone so far as predict they'll make the playoffs in the putrid east. Remember, they have no incentive to lose.

They will be MUCH better than a year ago. Still top 12 bad, but very unlikely to be top 3 bad and just as likely to be in the 7-9 range as they are to be in the 4-6 range,

I am not criticizing TJ. I am glad he posted it. The article was all over the place with weak arguments that is all.

112288

112288 wrote:I am not criticizing TJ.   I am glad he posted it.   The article was all over the place with weak arguments that is all.

112288

112288,

Sorry; didn't mean to have it look like or imply you were!

I just liked TJ's summary; that's why I separated it from your quote.

The article itself was all over the place as you said, although I think there were a number of accurate and even complimentary statements too.

Regards

NY My Man! Yes his summary was good.

112288