Don't dismiss this possibility too quickly. I will start with Marcus Smart's present status. He had ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery yesterday and was given a 6-8 week recovery period. Chris Paul, currently of the Houston Rockets, had similar surgery early in 2017 and was back in action exactly five weeks and two days later.
As a point of reference, Chris Paul had similar surgery to Smart for a torn UCL in left thumb last January. His recovery timetable was 6-8 weeks (same as Smart).