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Arnett Moultrie has surgery, likely out until January

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Updated: Friday, September 27, 2013 10:28 AM

The Sixers sent out a press release today informing us that forward Arnett Moultrie has had surgery on his injured left ankle and is not expected to return until January, at the earliest.

According to the release, Moultrie injured his medial malleolus of his left ankle last week and underwent surgery yesterday.

Moultrie, who was the 27th pick in the 2012 NBA draft, missed much of last summer while he was rehabbing an ankle sprain he suffered during a predraft workout.  Moultrie spent much of the early part of his rookie season trying to work his way back into game shape.

With Moultrie’s injury, 3rd year big man Lavoy Allen is likely to see more playing time, and it may decrease the likelihood of Thaddeus Young playing significant time at small forward.

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Derek Bodner

Derek Bodner is a credentialed reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers independently for DerekBodner.com. He is also a college basketball scout for DraftExpress.com, and an NBA contributor for The Ringer. Contact Information: derek.bodner@draftexpress.com / @DerekBodnerNBA

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  • tk76

    It’s funny how every year we hear about Thad playing more at SF, only to learn at training camp that some other circumstance will necessitate additional time at PF. The not so funny part is that a few seasons Thad slimmed down to prepare for SF duties- only to end up physically worn down at PF as the season progressed.

    Anyhow, I’d give hime some minutes at SF regardless of who the team has a PF. What is the downside?

    • Derek Bodner

      At this point, I just think his future is at power forward. I wouldn’t worry too much about playing him at small forward because it just wouldn’t be in my plans too much long term. Not too much downside, other than Thad has struggled when bouncing around at times in the past.

      • With Nerlens Noel in the fold, I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. Or simply put: Noel isn’t an NBA C. He lost weight after the injury, and got up to 221 as of recent. But just looking at his frame, does that look the slightest bit of an NBA C to you? Even Samuel Dalembert had more bulk than that. I look at Noel like a Serge Ibaka type of player. He’s a prototypical 4 that blocks shots and runs in transition. If Thad’s a “future sixer”, either he’s a SF or a sixth man. I just don’t see Noel as an NBA 5.

        This injury BTW doesn’t do much for me, I absolutely hated Arnett Moultrie when he got minutes last year, very poorous rebounder, he didn’t pay too much attention on defense and other than a dunk a game he didn’t have much in the way of an offensive game. Simply put, he’s the Speights/Brackins of the team. 8-12th man or scrub. I even see Hawes(who you know I notoriously hate) as a better big man.

        • Derek Bodner

          Very rarely does an NBA team have two post scorers. One of them is almost always perimeter oriented.

          Ask yourself this, do you want Noel running around guarding the perimeter?

          What’s more important, preventing Noel from defending the post or having Noel’s shot blocking and team defense?

          Noel’s a 5. You want him as close to the hoop as possible. Anything different mitigates his greatest strength. As for the label, I don’t care about the label.

          • I can see that argument, there are very few offensive post 5’s in the league. Given Noel’s high 2.0 SPG though, it seems he’s excellent covering the pick and roll. While there may not be many offensive 5’s. I don’t see Noel bulking up(and even he himself said he doesn’t see himself in that light) and hence, he’ll likely always be an “undersized C”(relative to weight). So I hope his shot blocking makes up for what he’ll likely give up in leverage.

            The “label” however has always been important to me basketball-wise. I’ve always likened basketball and building a basketball roster to a puzzle. This isn’t exactly a “rebuilding” section here, so I don’t want to take your article off track here but I suppose I’ll just say this:

            With Noel in the fold, I want to draft an opposite big to him similar to Minnesota’s Nikola Pekovic. I’m eyeing Jahil Okafor and Aaron Gordon(especially if his post defense/wing span really show up) as Offensive 5’s. I’ve always believed in putting it down low and kicking it out to shooters.

            Of course, that all changes if we’re in Wiggins, Randle, Parker range. Then at that mid-round pick(Pelicans), I’d go BPA. But I’d still target PG(I HATE Michael Carter Williams. There’s a lot of full game youtube tape on him and at times he looks like the worst PG in college basketball. Poor picking up his dribble, even worse awareness. I think he’s a career backup but looking forward to his development) and if there’s a big worth picking at 12-15 I’d pull the trigger(provided the big has an offensive game)

  • PhillyFastBreak

    Very unfortunate news regarding Moultrie. This season is the perfect time to give him significant minutes and properly evaluate whether he’s a legitimate NBA player. Ultimately, it properly doesn’t matter since he has affordable club options that will likely keep him with the team beyond this year but it still would have been nice to have him out there from the jump.

    • Derek Bodner

      Always better to know what you have rather than wonder what you might have.

  • Xsago

    This is very unfortunate timing for Arnett. November and December were the months when he could’ve had all the playing time in the world with Noel out… I am really worried about his future in the NBA now…

  • CM

    The Moultrie trade is working out to be a complete bust. He was never really in shape last year, mediocre in summer league, and now out again…

    What are the chances that his 3rd year option is picked up?

    • Derek Bodner

      I’m not sure you can really call it a bust. Unless the Sixers miraculously make the playoffs either this year or next, all they gave up for him was a second round pick. He could never play another game for the Sixers and he has given them more than the return of a typical second round pick.

  • ojr107

    This provide an opening for Royce White to get some time at power forward. We’ll see if he takes advantage of it.

    • Derek Bodner

      I honestly believe that the only one who controls Royce White’s playing time is Royce White. Not sure if this makes an appreciable difference. If he plays, it will be for reasons not related to Moultrie.

      • CM

        White vs Moultrie

        Who did you like better during the pre-draft process?

        • Derek Bodner

          I really wasn’t a fan of either. Gun to my head I probably would have said Moultrie.

          • CM

            I’ve been a little intrigued by some of the things that White was able to do at Iowa State, but I highly question if he can be good enough at it to be as ball dominant as he was in their system.

            I think his best case scenario would be similar to an Anthony Mason-type player who plays Corliss Williamson-type minutes…an undersized post who can initiate some offense for a second unit and rebound for you.

            Obviously, he needs to find a way to be available to a coach on a consistent basis before we get too far ahead of ourselves…

  • ojr107

    What’s the deal with Arsalan Kazemi? Is he at training camp?

    • Derek Bodner

      Sounds like he’s going to end up in Europe this year.