Isaiah Thomas' Return from Hip Injury Has No Timetable, Says Cavs GM Koby Altman

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not putting a time frame on Isaiah Thomas' return from a hip injury that caused him to miss the final three games of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman said in a press conference Thursday there is no timetable for when Thomas will be ready to play this season.

"The goal is to bring him back at some point this year and be healthy, compete and get back to IT status," Altman said.

Altman also made a point of letting the media know he didn't want his entire press conference to be about Thomas' injury.

"I don't want this to be the Isaiah Thomas hip press conference," he said.

Thomas did briefly discuss where he was in the recovery process, but Altman stepped in to shut down the injury questions:

Altman did note the Cavaliers intend to rehab Thomas' hip without having him undergo surgery, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin:

One NBA team executive told Chris Mannix of The Vertical that Altman's press conference makes it appear as if the Cavaliers "have no idea when he [Thomas] is going to be able to come back."

As a member of the Boston Celtics, Thomas was shut down after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavs with an injured hip.

ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh reported Wednesday the Celtics were "not certain exactly when the labral tear occurred."

Before the Cavaliers and Celtics completed the deal that sent Thomas to Cleveland as part of a package for Kyrie Irving, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Cavs were "weighing options" after Thomas took a physical.

The trade was finally agreed upon by both teams on Aug. 30 after the Celtics added a 2020 second-round pick to Cleveland's return.

A healthy Thomas last season averaged a career-high 28.9 points in 76 games and was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the second consecutive year.