Ian Mahinmi is injured again.
The big man, fresh off signing a four-year, $64 million deal with the Washington Wizards, has been limited to a single appearance due to injuries in both his right and left knees.
And now his right knee needs another MRI, according to CSN Mid-Atlantic’s J. Michael:
Ian Mahinmi, who has appeared in just one game for the Wizards this season because of injuries to both knees, will get another MRI on his right one Friday, league sources tell CSNmidatlantic.com.
Mahinmi was the Wizards’ most expensive offseason acquistion this summer and set to back up Marcin Gortat in the middle. However, he required surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee before the season tipped and then developed soreness — believed to be tendinitis, league sources told CSN — in the right knee after playing just 14 minutes vs. the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 26. Mahinmi signed a four-year deal worth almost $64 million.
The latest news is bad. Like, really bad. It doesn’t matter if Mahinmi will only miss another few weeks. For the Wizards, a few weeks may be the difference between salvaging their season and falling out of playoff contention.
Not only does Mahinmi’s absence compromise the integrity of a defense that ranks 20th in points allowed per 100 possessions, but it forces Marcin Gortat to play more minutes. Pushing 33, he is averaging a career-high 35.4 minutes per game. He didn’t play a lot at the beginning of his career, so that helps. But he has two seasons left on his deal after this one; Washington doesn’t want to risk burning him out.
Alas, head coach Scott Brooks doesn’t really have a choice. The Wizards are short on serviceable bigs, so unless he wants to run out lineups that feature Markieff Morris as center, he doesn’t have any viable alternative.
Washington, meanwhile, may not be able to salvage its season with a healthy Mahinmi. And that’s the most troubling thing of all.
