Could Isaiah Thomas’ Hip Injury Void The Kyrie Irving Trade Between The Cavaliers And Celtics? [Updated]

League sources have told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Cleveland Cavaliers are weighing their options in terms of the official completion of the Kyrie Irving trade that went down on Tuesday. His sources said that newly acquired point guard Isaiah Thomas flew into Cleveland yesterday to take his physical, which all players must pass for a deal to not be voided.

Thomas took the exam and then flew out of town soon afterward. Wojnarowski said that his sources told him that since the physical the Cavaliers have been evaluating Thomas’ hip injury and weighing their options in regard to the Kyrie deal, which could include voiding it. One source involved in the medical clearance process told ESPN that, “It’s a very sensitive situation.”

Thomas originally injured his hip during a March 15 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which caused him to miss two games. During Game 6 of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Washington Wizards, he re-aggravated the injury. He then suffered a worse re-aggravation during game two of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers, causing him to miss the rest of the series with a right femoral-acetabular impingement with a labral tear. It was thought that he may have to have hip surgery but that turned out not to be the case.

Sources: After Isaiah Thomas underwent physical today, Cavs still evaluating injured hip and weighing options w/ completion of Irving deal.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2017

Thomas traveled to Cleveland, took exam and flew back out of town, sources said. All players must pass physical, or a deal can be voided.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2017

As one source involved in the process involving Thomas' medical clearance told ESPN late Friday night, "It's a very sensitive situation."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2017

However, it seems that voiding the deal would be on the backburner to use as an option of last resort. Boston Globe reporter Adam Himmelsbach said that a source told him that an attempt to renegotiate the trade would be the most likely option if the Cavaliers deem that Thomas isn’t healthy enough to pass a physical.

The speculation is that if this were to happen, the Cavs would want another of Boston’s draft picks in place of Thomas. However, sources told Wojnarowski today that the Cavaliers have not yet re-engaged the Celtics on the issue, with all conversation staying within the organization on what to do regarding the status of the trade.

Source told me this week a renegotiation attempt would be a likely option before anything was rescinded if it reached that point. https://t.co/yy0Q2CWUEI

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) August 26, 2017

Sources: Cleveland's evaluation/conversation on status of Irving/Thomas deal has remained internal. So far, team hasn't re-engaged Boston.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2017

Both teams would have major reasons to not want to rescind the trade, starting with the fact that each team’s relationship with the players involved has been majorly damaged at this point. Neither the Cavaliers or the Celtics would likely want to deal with the drama of having unhappy players they just traded back in their locker room.

News of Irving having demanded a trade broke weeks ago and since then, speculation has swirled around him, the Cavs organization and, of course, the future of LeBron James with the team. There have been various talks on Irving and James relationship, that Irving wanted to leave town before LeBron ditched him and that he wanted to go elsewhere to be more of a focal point on offense. The Cavaliers would likely not want to have to deal with all of that drama around Irving’s forced return.

Jae Crowder has been the subject of trade speculation in the past. When the Jazz played the Celtics in early January, he did not take too kindly to the fact that his own fans were cheering for Hayward, who would be his replacement. He would tweet that he would have no issue leaving the team, which he later deleted.

For his part, Isaiah Thomas was blindsided by the trade. Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas said in an interview with MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani that he spoke recently to him. He said of Thomas that “Emotionally, he’s hurt. Emotionally, he’s wounded.” Thomas would go on to say that “I think it’s going to be difficult for him to trust again.” It does not seem like Crowder or Thomas would want to be back with Boston after all of this.

Besides that, there are other reasons for not voiding the trade. The Cavaliers would not want to give up the unprotected Brooklyn Nets first-round pick they got from the Celtics, which will likely be a top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. This pick was the key piece for the team in the trade since it lets them build their team for the future regardless of if LeBron James stays or not after this season.

For the Celtics’ part, they would not want to give up Irving. Besides the fact that he is under contract for two years, him being three years younger than Thomas gives the team a larger championship window as youngsters Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown develop. The other key part is that they acquired the Bird Rights to Irving as part of the trade. This means that they can re-sign him while being in the luxury tax.

League sources have now told ESPN that the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are planning to hold a telephone call today to talk about the uncertain status of the Kyrie Irving trade. The Cavaliers have until Thursday to make a final decision regarding the trade.

Story posting soon on ESPN: After Thomas physical, Cavs planning to seek further compensation before finalizing Irving trade to Boston.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2017

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is now reporting that the Cavaliers indeed are planning to seek further compensation before finalizing the trade. He also reported that league sources said that if the Cavs do not get a revised version of the trade to include said compensation then they will threaten the Celtics with a trade veto. This could lead to a standoff between both sides as they assess whether to let the Kyrie Irving mega-trade blow up.

[Featured Image by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]