Isaiah Thomas Injury Update: GM Koby Altman Dodges Questions on Player's Hip Injury at Cleveland Press Conference
On Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers formally introduced their newest additions headed by Isaiah Thomas. The reporters were obviously keen on getting the latest update on Thomas' hip injury, but unfortunately, a few to none were given.
Thomas was included in a blockbuster trade between the Cavaliers and the Celtics this offseason which brought him to Cleveland along with Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic in exchange for Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. The Cavaliers has also gotten Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick and Miami Heat's 2020 second-round draft off the deal.
Basketball fans will recall that the said deal faced some hiccups before getting finalized after the Cleveland Cavaliers performed a physical evaluation on Thomas. The player suffered from a hip injury even before the Celtics finished their season 2016-17 run in the playoffs.
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Since then, little has been known and said about Thomas' injury, and Friday's press conference was no different. The Cavaliers' newly-installed general manager, Koby Altman, was obviously keen on dodging any questions about Thomas' hip injury.
According to reports, when asked to provide an injury update, Altman stated: "To be fair to Isaiah, we're not going to address any specifics on his hip injury."
He then added: "We're also not going to put a timetable on it."
Despite the persistence of the reporters who were at the press conference, Altman addressed the matter directly and told them: "This is not going to turn into the Isaiah Thomas hip press conference."
On the other hand, Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue did confirm that Thomas will skip the start of the 2017-18 season. That means he will not be playing on Oct. 17, the season's opening game where the Cavaliers will be up against his former team.
Lue's statement also gave fans the idea that Thomas will need at least five weeks to recover from the injury. However, with the lack of an official injury update, there is also a chance that it could go longer than that.
Meanwhile, Thomas and Altman have both stated that the team and their medical staff already have a plan on how to deal with the player's hip injury and recovery. On the other hand, Thomas remained positive that he will soon be back on the court.
"When it comes to basketball, there's no pressure," Thomas explained. "Worked too hard to even think about pressure. So when that time comes and I'm able to be on the court and play at the level I know I can play at, that will take care of everything else."
