Jon Johnson: Injury updates: Zhaire Smith still doing individual work. Justin Patton has early February timeline. Still nothing on Markelle Fultz. Brown says he hopes to see him soon, but not in playing capacity.
Zhaire Smith Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G-F
Born: 06/04/99
Height: 6-5 / 1.96
Weight:195 lbs. / 88.5 kg.
Salary: $2,615,160
Born: 06/04/99
Height: 6-5 / 1.96
Weight:195 lbs. / 88.5 kg.
Salary: $2,615,160
Harris, a private equity maven who, along with a group of nearly a dozen partners, purchased the Sixers in 2011 for $280 million, is a regular presence in Philly. But in the wake of Bryan Colangelo’s dismissal, he and the rest of his group have grown even more hands-on. This was made clear during the draft, when, according to league sources, it was minority owner David B. Heller who pulled the trigger on the trade sending No. 10 Mikal Bridges to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Zhaire Smith and a future first-round pick.
Jessica Camerato: Elton Brand said Markelle Fultz and Zhaire Smith will join the Sixers in Boston and be with the team for the Christmas Day game. No date has been set for either player to return.
Serena Winters: Elton Brand said the Sixers expect Zhaire Smith to play this season (likely in the G-League first). Brand says Smith has been lifting and shooting in the gym and doing a lot of physical therapy.
A league source tipped me to Smith’s allergy issues on the morning of November 9. I spent the afternoon checking around and talked to people inside and outside the organization. I also reached out to Smith’s agent, who gave me a terse “no comment” before hanging up the phone. Then the team suddenly addressed the media late that night — before flying to Memphis for a game the next day and mere hours before news broke the next morning about the Butler deal.
I’m not sure what to make of that timeline. It might be coincidence, but it’s certainly curious. So was the way the information was ladled out by the organization. Several reports stemming from the November 9 background briefing mentioned that Smith had “lost weight” over the past month and a half, but I was told that he lost “upward of 20 pounds.” For someone who’s listed at 199 pounds on the team website, that’s significant. As is the difference between Smith not playing in 2018, as reported, and “being in danger” of not playing at all this season, which is how it was explained to me. I was also told that he had more than one procedure to address the issue, which is evidently what the Sixers meant by the fuzzy “additional medical treatment” line. (The team had no comment, according to a spokesperson.)
