In a statement released via email tonight during halftime of the 76ers game against the Portland Trailblazers in South Philadelphia, the team announced that center Andrew Bynum will not play a single game this season.
His knee issues have kept him off the court the entire season and update after update over the past few months made things look bleaker by the day. He had said on March 1st that he did not want to have to play through pain.
Now we know. He will not play for the Sixers this season. Maybe ever.
Bynum will opt to have season-ending surgery on Tuesday to clean out remaining debris in both knees. Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski first tweeted the news.
The team's full statement:
Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum will undergo arthroscopic surgery
on both knees tomorrow, which will cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
"After
many months of rehabilitation and consulting with numerous doctors,
Andrew and the doctors treating him determined that this is the best
course of action at this point," Sixers General Manager Tony DiLeo said.
"We will continue to monitor and evaluate his status moving forward."
The
arthroscopic surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek of the
Hospital
of Special Surgery in New York. The primary focus of the procedure is
to clean out loose bodies from within the knees in an attempt to
alleviate pain and swelling.
The team will provide an update when appropriate following the procedure.
Scientists are still working on growing cartilage in petri dishes.
The Sixers gave up Andre Iguodala, Nik Vucecik, Moe Harkless and a pick for the former Laker bigman touted as one of the top centers in the game. Remember that circus of a "Welcome to Philly" press conference at the Constitution Center last summer? All for naught.
We all thought it was a franchise-changing trade. It may still be that but certainly not in the positive way we had hoped.
Bynum played zero minutes for the Sixers this season and there's a very good chance that number will never change.
This news is certainly not surprising for anyone who watches this basketball team closely, but the fact that what we all saw coming has turned into a reality doesn't make it any easier to swallow.
What do they do now?
Previously: Contemplating "Plan B": What Do We Do If Bynum Never Plays and Then Leaves?
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