The San Antonio Spurs were in on Kyrie Irving until the Boston Celtics pulled off a trade to acquire him from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The deal sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick to Cleveland.
Thomas was a question mark, however. He dealt with a hip injury during the 2017 NBA playoffs, which was a focus of the trade discussions with the Cavaliers (h/t CBS Sports).
Well, the Cavs gave Thomas a physical on the injured hip, something Boston thought would heal with “rest and rehab,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.