INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Isaiah Thomas could be playing for the Cavaliers before the end of the calendar year, the Cavaliers said.

Thomas, who is recovering from right hip injuries, has made "real progress," according to the team, in three weeks of rehabilitation.

He was traded by Boston to the Cavs along with Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and two draft picks for Kyrie Irving earlier this month.

Thomas, 28, is a two-time All-Star and All-NBA point guard who averaged 28.9 points per game last season (third in the NBA). But he missed the final three games of the Eastern Conference finals because of an aggravated hip injury and took the next three months off.

When the Cavs introduced him at a press conference in September, they declined to set any timetable or allow him to answer questions about his injuries -- among them a torn labrum.

Now, Thomas could be back and playing for the Cavs when they play the Golden State Warriors on Christmas.

For context, Irving was out until mid-December in 2016 recovering from knee surgery.

Thomas has worked with weights and hip mobilization stretches; he's run in the pool and on a weightless treadmill, and is shooting stationary shots on the court with no ill effects.

Overseeing Thomas' recovery is the Cleveland Clinic's Dr. James Rosneck and Dr. Bryan T. Kelly in New York.

Thomas will be a free agent at season's end and is looking to earn a huge contract. He'll make about $6.3 million this year.