When to expect Isaiah Thomas will make his Cleveland Cavaliers debut

The Cleveland Cavaliers need Isaiah Thomas in order to compete for another championship, but when could the All-Star return to the court?

The blockbuster trade sending Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, Nets 2018 first rounder to the Cavs for Kyrie Irving turned the Eastern Conference on its head.

Both teams see a bright future with their new rosters, and Boston is now favored to win the East, according to ESPN’s BPI.

Some questions have arose though in Cleveland ever since the physical came back for IT. The Cavaliers questioned the timeline of his injury and even pondered the thought of denying the trade. The Cavaliers are now left wondering when IT will hit the floor.

They didn’t seem very comfortable talking about IT’s hip at his introductory press conference earlier this month.

But at during their recent media day, a possible January comeback was thrown out as a timetable.

Some say Thomas will hopefully suit up around mid-season while others believe it might not be till the the playoffs. The tricky part about all of this is that no one truly knows.

The origin of his hip injury is unknown. Boston trainers said its possible Thomas has had the injury since high school and just played through it. Some other opinions to arise were that he hurt it back in March, and then re-injured it during the Conference Finals

From The Beginning

Thomas left Game 2 of the conference finals and it was announced shortly after the fact  that he had a hip injury and would be out the rest of the series. This was a surprise to many considering a hip injury had never been documented for him. He did however have a groin injury early on that many are now assuming was misdiagnosed.

His injury isn’t considered to be career ending and doctors even said he wont need surgery. Thomas came out and said that he wasn’t “Damaged goods” and he felt he could still be a threat.

But when exactly will that promise be put to the test?

Some good news coming from all of this is that IT has shown up at mini camp with the Cavaliers. A recent picture posted by Richard Jefferson showed Isaiah with the rest of the team in Santa Barbara. He has also been seen doing stretches and shootarounds to help work it out.

Isaiah has a lot to prove to the NBA after being dumped by the Celtics in the off-season.

Many still wonder if he has what it takes to be an All-Star caliber guard, or if his injuries are too much to overcome.

Next: 2018 NBA Draft: 5 players the Cavs should target with Brooklyn's pick

With LeBron James leading the way, the Cavaliers can hold there own without him but for how long? IT’s presence could be the difference between a championship win or another failed attempt.