The 76ers and center Andrew Bynum are considering arthroscopic surgery on the player's right knee in order to clean out loose cartilage, a procedure that could likely end the season for the center they traded so many young assets to acquire, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Bynum suffered a setback in the form of swelling in his right knee following his participation in a five-on-five scrimmage, first reported in The Inquirer Feb. 22. While the Sixers have been unable to practice recently due to their schedule, Bynum would not have been able to participate due to the swelling in his knee, which was also first reported by The Inquirer.
Bynum said his left knee "feels good."
Following practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine on Friday, Bynum acknowledged that his season might in fact be over.
"Now it's getting a little late, so I really don't know," Bynum said when asked if he were considering sitting out the final two months of the 76ers season. "I played in one scrimmage and [I have] a four- to five-day setback," Bynum said. He added that he is "just getting treatment and trying to push the fluid out" of his knee.
"I still think I can play," Bynum said, "but like I said, the season is short."
And growing shorter by the day for the teammates he has never shared the floor with since being traded to Philadelphia.
The Sixers (22-34) suffered their season-high seventh loss in a row at Chicago on Thursday, a setback that placed them six games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They have lost eight road games in a row, and they have won just one road game in 2013, over the Los Angeles Lakers on New Year's Day.
