December 15, 2016
After missing the first month of the season, Jerryd Bayless tried his best to give it a go. But every time that the eighth-year guard fell to the floor, he would get up slowly, visibly grimacing while looking at his left wrist. That wrist just wasn't right, and it was clear he was playing injured.
Today, Bayless’ season came to an end after only three games played. The Sixers announced that the 28-year-old guard underwent surgery this morning to repair the injury (in this case, a torn ligament) in his left wrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
In a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Sixers said that “multiple falls to the floor resulted in significant impact to the wrist.”
“While it’s unfortunate Jerryd will miss the remainder of the season, we feel confident that today’s procedure will resolve his wrist injury and related discomfort,” said Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. “Jerryd is to be credited with his committed and professional approach in making every effort to avoid this outcome.”
Bayless and the Sixers agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal in the offseason with the hope that he could play off the ball next to rookie point forward Ben Simmons. As it turned out, the two never played in a game together during the 2016-17 season due to injury.
For the Sixers, this doesn't mean all that much as they have played without Bayless for almost the entire season. Sergio Rodriguez and T.J. McConnell will continue to shoulder point guard duties until Simmons comes back into the fold, which is generally expected to be sometime in January.
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