Andrew Bynum out indefinitely after knee problems continue to worsen – NBA News
The Philadelphia 76ers took a calculated risk when they traded for Andrew Bynum with the Los Angeles Lakers during the summer, knowing they were getting an All Star Player with the capability of becoming a franchise player with
a slight problem with his knees. However, their calculations have proven them wrong as Bynum has not played so far this season and after the team said that they were expecting him to start practice on December 10thonly a few weeks ago, the team
has now come out and clearly said that they have no timeline for his return at the moment.
"Bottom line is Andrew is out indefinitely. There are no timelines; we just have to wait and see how he reacts,” said General Manager Tony DiLeo before the Sixers played the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bynum has bone bruises in both knees and the knees are also in a “weakened cartilage stage.”
“His knees now and the MRIs are not the same; it's a different type (of) situation. At the time of the trade, we had four doctors look at his MRI; we knew it was a calculated risk. We also knew we were getting the second-best center
in the league, a franchise-type player. We took that risk,” added DiLeo.
The team is consulting doctors and professionals from around the world in an attempt to find a procedure that can give Bynum strength in his knees and undo the damage he has already inflicted. There have been no talks of any surgery
either by Bynum or the team, and the All Star Center has already said that there is no surgery that can be of any use to him. A surgery is expected to put Bynum out for atleast a year.
Bynum is in the final year of his contract that pays him $16.5 million, and the Sixers were planning to re-sign him next year on a new contract and build the future of the franchise around him. With the kind of knee problems Bynum
has been facing ever since he reached Philadelphia, the Sixers are definitely looking at other options that could help them secure the future of the franchise and reduce their reliance on Bynum.
"We hope he will back; we're anticipating he will be back at some point. We have plans for the future if he is not back with us but we want to plan on him being here long-term,” said DiLeo clearly.
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