Well, that didn’t take long.
Kelly Olynyk was weighing the option of whether to have shoulder surgery as soon as possible or rest up, play for the Canadian national team and then get surgery sometime after. Either way, he was going to have surgery.
Update: The Boston Celtics officially announced that he had surgery:
The Boston Celtics announced today that Kelly Olynyk yesterday underwent a successful right shoulder arthroscopy for recurrent subluxations. He will begin an immediate rehabilitation program and the time frame for his return to basketball activities has not yet been determined.
This is the best outcome for all involved, including Olynyk, who will be understandably disappointed that he cannot rep Team Canada this summer.
But rest won’t heal his right shoulder injury. If surgery is really inevitable, it’s best to get it done immediately. And let’s not forget that Olynyk is entering a contract year; he will be a restricted free agent next summer unless he and the Celtics reach a contract extension by the October deadline.
Delaying his return would only stand to adversely impact his value, making it less likely that he would be ready to start next season, and more likely that he wouldn’t regain form until later in the year.
To that end, it’ll be interesting to see if the Celtics try to hammer out an extension ahead of that deadline, locking up Olynyk before he has a chance to hit the semi-open market amid a second salary-cap explosion in 2017. As a stretch 5 who can also protect the rim, he will cost a pretty penny even now, when he’s injured. But that injury, coupled with his limited playing time through three seasons in Boston, might help the Celtics get him at what would be a significantly cheaper price in the long run.
