Isaiah Thomas Likely Won't Need Surgery for Hip Injury, Says Brad Stevens

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens offered an update on injured point guard Isaiah Thomas, telling reporters the two-time All-Star shouldn't require surgery to address the hip injury that knocked him out of the 2017 NBA playoffs.

"He's got a follow-up with his doctor that he's been working closely with either next week or 10 days out from now and then [they will] determine next step," Stevens said Monday, per ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg. "But every indication is he feels good and he'll be ready to go. Everybody that I have talked to said it looked unlikely that they would need to [perform surgery]. But I don't want to speak in absolutes. I'm not a doctor, just a coach."

Thomas injured the hip in the Celtics' 130-86 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston lost the series in five games.

The injury brought an underwhelming end to an otherwise strong 2016-17 season for Thomas. He averaged a career-high 28.9 points per game and finished fifth in the NBA MVP voting.

The fact Thomas is progressing well in his rehab is good news for the Celtics in what is potentially shaping up to be an offseason that falls well short of the team's expectations.

Jimmy Butler got traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Indiana Pacers have agreed to trade Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder, per ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. Having failed to land either of the two, the Celtics' hopes of upgrading the roster rest largely on signing Gordon Hayward.

Regardless of Hayward's final decision, the Celtics will need another big year from Thomas in order to challenge the Cavaliers for Eastern Conference supremacy. It's important the hip injury doesn't disrupt his preparations too much ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.