Jahlil Okafor’s knee soreness is a sore spot with Philadelphia 76ers

Years after knee surgery, Jahlil Okafor’s knee soreness continues to plague the young man. That remains a sore spot with the Philadelphia 76ers as well.

Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor is fighting soreness in his right knee. Again.  Well, maybe again, maybe it never stopped.  But even as the team prepares for the 2017-2018 season, there it is, staring us right in the face. Knee soreness is hindering Jahlil Okafor.  And that is hindering the Philadelphia 76ers

That pain is most disturbing. It’s 68 weeks and counting from the original injury.  Did we miss the fine print on that damned knee surgery? Let’s start investigating.

Failure to communicate

We know that it is a topic that infuriated Jake Pavorsky over at Liberty Ballers.  His scathing article called out the lack of information regarding players and their knees.  What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Okay, that’s a reference to Cool Hand Luke, but you get the picture.  On one hand, a  knee injury with competent surgical intervention is presumed to mend without pain. Even with some lingering soreness, physical therapy should relieve most pain in normal surgeries.

On the other hand, there is a significant percentage of post-knee patients who never stop experiencing pain in the injured knee.  Is that normal for all surgeries? Unfortunately, meniscus surgery is not a normal surgery.  While the arthroscopic version is less invasive, involves a short period of time and two-three small incisions, the knee joint is a complex joint which supports the body weight, controls motion through strong connective ligaments, and acts like a shock absorber. But there is no blood supply to the cartilage. And so, healing is no better than a crawl.

What does a menicus tear surgery involve?

Even a meniscus tear surgery of minimal invasion results in some limits to the post-surgical knee. To help understand this, I have included an instructive video describing the meniscus tear surgery.
In the video, the narrator does an excellent job of calling the “play by play” of the surgery. the objective of the surgeon is to create a stable edge for the cartilage to prevent future injury. That mean removing tissue.

Cartilage does not regenerate. Once removed, it’s gone from the body. There are some advances in medical sciences where there are reports of cartilage regenerative possibilities.  But those are still in reports and trials.

Video, but not for the squeamish

The video below takes you through a meniscus tear surgery, similar to the one undergone by Jahlil Okafor.If you are squeamish, don’t click on the video.

You may note that the surgeon describes the patient in his mid-20’s and as a basketball player.  But the outcomes of meniscus tear surgery are not as simple as you might think.

“Each patient healing process is unique to that patient” is a common phrase of orthopedic surgeons. And where the knee is concerned, it’s very true. Some patients heal completely. Others experience lingering pain.

Will this affect Joel Embiid’s knee as well?

The meniscus tear in Joel Embiid‘s knee is thought to be less extensive than the injured knee of Jahlil Okafor.  That holds significant relevance to the outcomes of the two Philadelphia 76ers centers. Furthermore, Joel Embiid has not reported any limits or pain in his knee.  The reports of Jahlil Okafor’s pain leaked pretty early in the preseason training last season.

So we should be in the clear over Joel Embiid. Still, that would explain the team’s conservative approach to Joel Embiid’s recovery.  And even moreso, that still means that Jahlil Okafor’s knee is an issue. So what is the status of that knee now?

In the embedded video, Jahlil Okafor admits that is knee still has pain, and still swells up at times without warning. Well that’s not good for future trade talks, is it?

Some good days and some bad days

So how does “some good days and some bad days” work? Well the reality is that its a situation he will face for some time, perhaps even for his entire career.  Now, what can the Philadelphia 76ers do about it?

Hoops Habit

Most likely nothing. The team can like it or lump it. What options remain?

We’ve heard trade rumors. Everyone has heard Jahlil Okafor trade rumors.  But the fact remains that only a very desperate team would trade anything of significant value to the Philadelphia 76ers for that huge questionmark over Jahlil Okafor’s knee. So the only alternative is the Philadelphia 76ers giving Okafor away for next to nothing.  I cannot accept that for a minute. He is worth far more if the knee pain subsides, or is manageable for the better part of the season.

How much playing time should Okafor expect?

Let’s stop kidding ourselves. The starting center role for the Philadelphia 76ers belongs to Joel Embiid. Currently, the team has a number of players who can absorb playing minutes at the center position. Jahlil Okafor may no longer even be the primary backup center. So how many playing minutes are truly on the line if the Philadelphia 76ers stick with Okafor for the time being?

Trade rumors appear to be just that, rumors.  I cannot fathom the Philadelphia 76ers consenting to drastic lowering of Okafor’s value before the team makes the NBA playoffs.  Why would they? The teams who continue to be rumored with interest are likely teams the Sixers will face in post-season.  Aiding the competition would be a very short-sighted and foolish squandering of team resources.

Vegan Okafor impressing players and coaches

We’ve highlighted the fact that Jahlil Okafor is serious enough about the NBA to make a complete change of diet to Vegan.

So far, the immediate results are incredibly impressive. He’s dropped 20 pounds and is leaner and quicker.

Vegan Okafor impresses Coach Brown

As he pursues that diet, his body will get leaner still.  Right now, that new version is impressing head coach Brett Brown.

So where does this land us? Back to square one? Not exactly.  Let’s summarize what we have discovered

Summarizing Okafor knee issue

We started out with little information about Jahlil Okafor’s knee soreness, and the available options for the player, and the team, going forward. Thanks to your patience, and some helpful tweets and online medical websites, we have packaged the Jahlil Okafor knee issue into a surprisingly well wrapped package.  There are several details we can now be confident about:

Conclusion one: Jahlil Okafor’s knee pain may not go away anytime soon

This fact surprised me. Even with my background in healthcare, I had no idea that the odds of lingering pain in the injured knee is so common. But you can bet that NBA teams are very aware of this fact.

Lingering pain is inaccurate. Lingering SPORADIC pain is closer to the truth. Without seeing medical charts or graphs, there is no way to gauge the frequency or intensity of his knee flair-ups.  It may be a significant impact this season, or may be a minor subplot.  Right now, it’s hard to say.

Conclusion two: Trade rumors involving Jahlil Okafor’s present condition seem highly unlikely

While we have no way of gauging the knee’s impact of Jahlil Okafor, other NBA teams likely find it next to impossible.  And trade rumors begin simply from a casually placed “How is Jahlil Okafor’s knee?” between two NBA executives.

It’s a good story, but don’t look for any real activity until the knee pain subsides permanently.

Conclusion three: Jahlil Okafor is rededicated to basketball, and his upcoming season may be very positive

All of this brings me to the best conclusion of all.  If the knee pain negates any possiblities of trading the player, that leaves the Philadelphia 76ers no choice but to retain the young man for the duration of his rookie contract. If the early reports are true, and Jahlil Okafor’s leaner version is more adept to contributing to this team after all, this will be a happily ever after story.

Jahlil Okafor arrived to the NBA too young to carry the team.  Then he became too injured to contribute meaningfully. Hopefully, the upcoming season will sort everything out for both the player and the team.

Next: The future of the Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft picks

On one hand, I blogged throughout Jahlil Okafor’s rookie season. The optimism and pressure for that young man to deliver was incredibly high. He was the team’s offense.  On the other hand, I blogged during Jahlil Okafor’s rookie season’s transgressions. And so, I was disappointed in the young man’s choices.  Now I blog during Jahlil Okafor’s effort to turn his NBA career around.

I’ll choose door number three.