Cleveland Cavaliers News: Is Isaiah Thomas Close To Returning?

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas, who aggravated a right hip injury in May, could be close to participating in five-on-five practices and may scrimmage with the team's G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

A report on Sunday claimed Thomas was looking to make his Cavs debut in the first week of January, though head coach Tyronn Lue later suggested that the outlook might be premature.

After the blockbuster trade that brought Thomas to Cleveland and sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics, reports surfaced that Thomas' hip injury could be career-threatening. In an August interview with ESPN, Thomas said the injury would not ruin his career, though he didn't indicate whether he'd return for the 2017-18 season.

"Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be," Thomas said to Adrian Wojnarowski. "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."

The 28-year-old has not played since May 19.

Thomas is coming off his best NBA season. In his sixth season, Thomas shot a career-best 46.3 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line, to finish 2016-17 with a 28.9 scoring average. Only Russell Westbrook (31.6) and James Harden (29.1) had better scoring averages.

The Cavs are currently 2.5 games behind the Celtics in the Eastern Conference. In the season opener, the Cavs defeated the Celtics, 102-99. The Celtics will host the Cavs on Jan. 3 and Feb. 11.