Injured Isaiah Thomas vows to return as 'the same player'

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas has promised to deliver another MVP-calibre season despite worries surrounding his hip injury. The Boston Celtics traded Thomas to Cleveland as part of the recent Kyrie Irving trade. Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic were the other Boston players traded to Cleveland.

"There's never been an indication that I wouldn't be back, and there's never been an indication that this is something messing up my career. Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, 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 point guard told ESPN on Tuesday.

Thomas was advised against hip surgery during the summer. And although the guard isn't expected to be cleared for next month's training camp, Thomas is confident of full recovery in due course.

"I haven't had one doctor tell me that this injury is going to hurt my career. Surgery was not the best option in this case. I aggravated it in March when [Minnesota's] Karl-Anthony Towns fell on me. I kept playing on it and making it worse -- until I couldn't play anymore last season," Thomas added.

Thomas, 28, was forced to skip most of May's conference finals series after aggravating a hip injury. The undersized Thomas averaged a career-high tally of 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game last season. He finished fifth in the Most Valuable Player (MVP) ballot.

After Thomas' physical exam with the Cleveland last Friday, reports surfaced off a possible standoff between the Celtics and Cavs over the proposed trade package. Thomas is not expected to return to action until 2018. "I don't know what (the Cavs) are doing. It's out of my control. I just want to talk about what I can control, and I know that this (hip) won't be a problem into the future."