Cavaliers won't put timetable on Thomas' hip injury

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have said a lot about the health of Isaiah Thomas by not saying very much at all.

Thomas was hardly permitted to speak for himself Thursday as Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman fielded questions from a throng of reporters probing into the timeline of Thomas' return from his much-publicized hip injury.

"The goal is to bring him back at some point this year and be healthy and compete and get back to I.T. status ... We're just not going to address the specifics of the injury, not going to comment on a timetable," Altman said.

Altman sidestepped persistent questioning, and at one point called for reporters to focus on Thomas the person and the player instead of seeking an injury update.

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

The Cavaliers did say Thomas won't require surgery, but there's little clarity about the condition of Cleveland's would-be starting point guard after the departure of Kyrie Irving.

The severity of Thomas' hip injury came into question when the Cavaliers nearly pulled out of a trade agreement with the Boston Celtics following his physical. The Celtics later offered an additional pick on top of their original package to complete the deal.

With Thomas out for an indefinite period, Cleveland is set to start Derrick Rose at point guard with Jose Calderon as his backup.