Danny Green Of The 76ers Has Torn His Acl And Lcl.
The Philadelphia 76ers continue to take hits. Danny Green, a seasoned winger, was diagnosed with a torn ACL & LCL in his left knee just 1 day after the season finished.
In real time, the injuries appeared to be severe. After trying a layup, Joel Embiid tumbled on the court, rolling up on Green’s calf and forcing him to collapse in pain. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there was considerable concern about the severity of injury during Game 6, and the MRI today verified those suspicions.
Green arrived at his final interview on crutches and wearing a large air cast on his left leg on Friday. He sounded upbeat about the seriousness of the damage (this was before the MRI result were out), but he also shared some sobering details from the aftermath:
Green explained, “It was not until I attempted to put bulk on it which I noticed how terrible it was.” “Then I realized it’ll take time, and I wasn’t going to show up ready with in series if we were going to win anyhow,” Green said. “I heard something that didn’t sit well with me.”
The recovery time for a ruptured ACL is usually between 6 and 9 months. The fact that he will turn 35 in June will only add to the difficulty of his recuperation.
The Sixers have several alternatives for Green’s career with the franchise. Last summer, he inked a 2-year, $20 million contract with a $10 million guarantee. Because of the way the agreement was written, no money was promised in the second year.
The team’s first option is to keep him just on roster another season in the hope that he would fully recuperate and return to the court before the end of 2022-23 season. The Sixers’ second alternative could be to release him into free agency. The third option is to try to package him in a trade with another piece and two in order to bring in role player who can have an impact on the floor next season.
The Sixers will have to make a difficult decision. Green gave the Sixers some much-needed senior leadership while also being a capable three-and-D player. With limited contract room this offseason, the Sixers will struggle to replace him in the starting lineup.
In his farewell interview on Friday afternoon, head coach Doc Rivers expressed his gratitude for Green’s contribution to the team:
“What I appreciate about Danny is which he’s been performing for 1,000 years & still loves it,” Rivers added. “He still wants to play and hasn’t lost any of his zeal. And So believe me when I say you don’t get much of those as a coach. He’s a crucial element of our team. And it wounded us a lot when he walked out. That hurt us both emotionally and physically.”
If this does turn out to be his final game with the Sixers, he will have scored 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game when shooting 39.5 % from 3-point range.
