I think it's hard to compare Joel's situation to Russel Westbrook and Amare because, while they all have had meniscus issues, the three of them have each had different follow up procedures to address them.
Russ had a meniscus repair done, which is the 'full' procedure where the tear is sewn back together and has the longer rehab time (8-12 months). Amare had a microfracture surgery, which is another long-term solution with a 9-12 month recovery. Joel had the menisectomy done, which just cuts all of the disconnected meniscus out of the knee and basically signals 'we are sacrificing long-term prospects to get him back on the court as soon as possible'.
Joel's procedure was 'successful' in that it got him back on the court as soon as possible, but we are now in the 'sacrifice long-term prospects' phase. There is MUCH less opportunity for future recovery now due to the meniscus being removed as opposed to repaired (Russ) or partially-regenerated (Amare). I know the doomer take is the easy way out, but from a medical perspective it seems like we made our bet on Embiid being able to carry last year at the cost of the future. And obviously that didn't pan out.
Setting everything else aside, Amare was finished at age 30 and Westbrook was minimum contract journeyman after age 32. Embiid will turn 32 next season and make $250m the next four seasons… yeah so if they are the best case examples still doesn’t portend anything good for the Sixers nor Embiid.
I think it's hard to compare Joel's situation to Russel Westbrook and Amare because, while they all have had meniscus issues, the three of them have each had different follow up procedures to address them.
Russ had a meniscus repair done, which is the 'full' procedure where the tear is sewn back together and has the longer rehab time (8-12 months). Amare had a microfracture surgery, which is another long-term solution with a 9-12 month recovery. Joel had the menisectomy done, which just cuts all of the disconnected meniscus out of the knee and basically signals 'we are sacrificing long-term prospects to get him back on the court as soon as possible'.
Joel's procedure was 'successful' in that it got him back on the court as soon as possible, but we are now in the 'sacrifice long-term prospects' phase. There is MUCH less opportunity for future recovery now due to the meniscus being removed as opposed to repaired (Russ) or partially-regenerated (Amare). I know the doomer take is the easy way out, but from a medical perspective it seems like we made our bet on Embiid being able to carry last year at the cost of the future. And obviously that didn't pan out.
Westbrook was 23, in top top shape, and not 7 feet and 275 lbs.
Setting everything else aside, Amare was finished at age 30 and Westbrook was minimum contract journeyman after age 32. Embiid will turn 32 next season and make $250m the next four seasons… yeah so if they are the best case examples still doesn’t portend anything good for the Sixers nor Embiid.