The Cleveland Cavaliers finally decided to pull the trigger on a deal to send point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in a blockbuster trade that netted them in return a package headlined by All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas has been using the offseason to work himself back from a hip injury that ended his season prematurely in the Eastern Conference Finals. With that in mind, former Celtics great Kevin McHale stated in an interview with SiriusXM NBA radio that he believes it's concerning that the 28-year-old has yet to be medically cleared from the injury.
He had aggravated the hip injury in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers. However, he is progressively recovering this offseason avoiding surgery to instead going the route of rehab and rest to heal properly from the injury. The latest report a few weeks ago had suggested that he will be ready to go by the start of training camp next month.
Unless Thomas were to suffer a setback, there shouldn't be any concern from the Cavaliers with the injury moving forward. The fact that he has been able to avoid surgery is a major encouraging sign that could prevent any other issues arising in the process.
The addition of Thomas should help keep Cleveland in the title picture as he has developed into one of the premier point guards in the league. He is coming off the heels of his best individual year where he averaged career-highs with 28.9 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the field along with 5.9 assists that helped him earn his second All-Star team selection and first All-NBA Second Team nod.