Isaiah Thomas injury update: Return of Nuggets guard (hip) 'imminent,' report says

Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas got his tongue-in-cheek 30th birthday wish Thursday (he wasn't traded) and now he's moving closer to what The Athletic describes as his next step toward an "imminent return."

The Nuggets last month projected that he could make his debut as early as this month as he continues to rehab from March 2018 hip surgery.

In next step toward imminent return, Denver Nuggets' Isaiah Thomas has been assigned to the NBA G League for rehab assignment, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2019

A subsequent report by The Athletic clarified that the Nuggets considered getting him practice time with a G League team, but because the Nuggets don't have an affiliate, Thomas "will instead stay with Denver, moving closer to (his) NBA return."

According to ESPN, there was "hope among Thomas and the Nuggets organization" that he would return sometime during the team's homestand next week ahead of the All-Star break.

The report, which cited unidentified league sources, noted there is "strong confidence" Thomas would return no later than the first game after the All-Star break on Feb. 22.

Thomas, who signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Denver in July, responded to that report on Twitter.

⌚️ https://t.co/CeMLBpMIsO

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) January 19, 2019

He joined the Nuggets by way of Los Angeles, spending the 2017-18 season with the Lakers after a short stint with the Cavaliers. He hasn't played a full regular season since he was with the Celtics in 2016-17.

He averaged a career-high 28.9 points per game that season after scoring 22.2 points the season before. But he has been limited to 17 games last season after initially suffering the hip injury with the Celtics in the spring of 2017 and aggravating it in the Eastern Conference Finals that year.

It wasn't immediately unclear where Thomas would play his rehab games because the Nuggets don't have a G League affiliate. They previously have sent players to the Capitol City Go-go (Wizards), Delaware Blue Coats (76ers), Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat) and Rio Grand Valley Vipers (Rockets).

The Nuggets (37-17) enter the final week before the All-Star break in second place in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games back of the Warriors.