Washington Wizards center Ian Mahinmi is out for at least a month after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn medial meniscus in his left knee, the team announced on Saturday.
From Wizards Today:
Mahinmi, 29, signed a 4-year, $64 million deal in July of 2016 and was expected to bolster a regrouped Wizards frontcourt. Longtime Wizard Nene is now part of the Houston Rockets, leaving Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris, Andrew Nicholson, and Jason Smith as the likely rotation for Washington as the season starts.
The injury is unfortunate timing for the Wizards, who had a middling defense in 2015-16 in terms of efficiency, and who signed Mahinmi to elevate their play on that end of the floor.
Washington will have to make do with an offensive-leaning bunch in the frontcourt as they try to better their 10th place finish in the Eastern Conference from last season.
