Thomas happy to play with LeBron

GM avoids addressing issue of hip injury

The new-look Cavaliers have something very important going for them with an eye on the 2018 playoffs: Isaiah Thomas wants to be here.

Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic, the three players acquired in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Celtics, were introduced on Sept. 7 at the Cavaliers practice facility.

General Manager Koby Altman made the trade, which also brought the Cavaliers the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick and Miami’s second-round pick in 2020, because Irving no longer wanted to pursue championships with LeBron James.

“I’m excited to play with the best player in the world,” Thomas said. “Being put in this situation is everything. To play with the best player in the world, to play with a guy like Kevin Love and J.R. Smith and Derrick Rose and be coached by Tyronn Lue, who played in this league for a long time, is like a match made in heaven.

“It’s a scary thing when everything is able to click with the guys we have coming in and the guys we have on this team. I’m excited and I can’t wait to get going.”

There’s the rub. No one is saying when Thomas will “get going” because no one knows when the right hip injury that

“I’m excited to play with the best player in the world.”

— Isaiah Thomas

sidelined him in the 2017 Eastern Conference finals will be healed.

Altman threw up a roadblock every time a question was asked about Thomas’ hip during the news conference that lasted 33 minutes. Altman said the plan in place does not include surgery, but gave no other details.

“To be fair to Isaiah, we’re not going to address any specifics of the hip injury,” Altman said. “We’re also not going to put a timetable on his return. We’re not going to rush it at all. The goal is to bring him back at some point this year and be healthy and compete and get back to IT status.”

Thomas’ attitude and the one displayed by Crowder were refreshing after Irving awkwardly forced a trade following three straight trips to the NBA Finals. The goal is obviously to make a fourth trip, which is why what happens from mid-April on is infinitely more important than what happens in the first four months of the regular season.

Seven players are new to the Cavaliers roster — Thomas, Crowder, Zizic, Derrick Rose, Jose Calderon, Jeff Green and Cedi Osman. Figuring out how to make everything mesh is the challenge for coach Tyronn Lue.

Predictably there will be some choppy nights early in the season. Fans will get nervous, blame losses on Irving wanting out, but in the end the Cavs will figure it out.

Thomas averaged 28.9

points a game with the Celtics last season. Irving averaged 25.2 points for the Cavaliers.

“It’s going to be different without Kyrie as far as to start, a guy who can go one-on-one and get his shot off at any time, but from another standpoint, we’ll be able to change our offense a little bit and do things a little different and I’m very excited about that opportunity, very excited about that challenge,” Lue said. “Once we get everyone back and get everyone healthy, I know we’re going to be a great team. I’m very excited for it.”

This wasn’t the day to bury Irving.

“I want to thank him from the organization,” Altman said. “He made tremendous contributions to this franchise and this city.

He was here six years and he became a champion here and he helped us win a championship in spectacular fashion. And so I think we owe him a thank you and we owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Lue chimed in and referenced Irving’s 3-point shot over Steph Curry to beat the Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals:

“Kyrie was a big part of what we did, probably making the biggest shot in Cleveland history and one of the biggest shots in NBA Finals history,” Lue said.

But Irving wanted out and Thomas is happy to be here. The page has officially been turned.

TONY DEJAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Cavaliers’ Isaiah Thomas, right, holds up his jersey as general manager Koby Altman looks on during a news conference.