Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas will not be ready for the NBA season opener next month and could be out of action for a couple of months after that, but his injured hip will not going to keep him from making his acting debut.
Thomas will reportedly be featured in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: SVU, appearing as himself, though it's unclear exactly when the episode will air.
Per Cleveland.com,
"NBC confirmed Tuesday that the Cleveland Cavaliers new point guard, Isaiah Thomas, will appear on an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," playing himself. The episode will air on WKYC Channel 3, probably in late October."
The 28-year old All-Star point guard was traded from the Celtics to the Cavs last month, along with Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected 2018 first round pick and a 2020 second round pick, in exchange for Kyrie Irving.
At the Cavs' introductory press conference last month, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed that Thomas will not be ready when the Cavs kick off the NBA season with a matchup against the Boston Celtics on October 17th. That said, Cleveland Cavs GM Koby Altman told reporters that Isaiah won't be undergoing surgery and that the goal is to have him back "at some point this year."
Thomas has been adamant that he'll return as the same player he was last year.
"I am not damaged," Thomas told ESPN. "I'll be back, and I'll be the same player."
"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," Thomas told ESPN. "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."
"I haven't had one doctor tell me that this injury is going to hurt my career," Thomas said.