Well, maybe he should have stuck to those 2.5 pound plates.
Just a day before media day and training camp are set to kick off, and there is depressing injury news out of Philadelphia. Sixers’ guard Jared McCain suffered a UCL tear in his right thumb during a workout. He and the team are still meeting with doctors to decide on a treatment plan going forward. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps was the first to report the news.
This puts a major damper on the start of the season. Not only was the prospect of McCain playing with this revamped backcourt one of the most exciting storylines heading into the season, but the hope was that he would get a full season under his belt. McCain hasn’t played since Dec. 13 of last season when he suffered a meniscus tear. The 15.3 points per game he averaged during that time had him running away with the Rookie of the Year award despite not even being halfway into the season.
So McCain might have to wait even longer before he is finally able to take the court again. Doing a basic Google search, mild tears don’t necessarily require surgery and will heal in about 4-6 weeks. If it’s more serious and surgery is required, that could take up to 8-12 weeks of recovery time. However much time McCain misses, it’s just a reminder to never get your hopes up too high around here.
Training camp being right around the corner is not the only thing that makes the timing of this injury interesting. It was just reported that the Sixers are still very far apart on a new deal with restricted free agent Quentin Grimes — so much so that Grimes will not be at media day or the team’s preseason trip to Abu Dhabi.
There was subsequent reporting that Grimes is worried about his role in the backcourt since the team drafted VJ Edgecombe with the third overall pick. The McCain injury does clear the way for more minutes and on-ball opportunities for Grimes. His camp could see this as a chance to boost up their price as a result.
It’s still a little bit before the season is officially underway, but the Sixers are already in midseason form.
