Doc Rivers Offers Concerning Update on George Hill's Timeline
A couple of weeks ago, as the NBA trade market was closing, the Philadelphia 76ers struck a deal on the day of the deadline. By sending multiple second-round picks and several reserve players to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks, the Sixers landed a young forward in Ignas Brazdeikis and a veteran guard in George Hill.
When the Sixers' front office made the deal, the Sixers were in the midst of a six-game road trip. Therefore, the new players waited until the team returned to Philly before joining them. At this point, Brazdeikis is active and on Philly's bench on game nights.
But the key player in the trade, George Hill, is still out as he's nursing a thumb injury. Earlier in the year, Hill started the season off as the Thunder's starting point guard. Just 14 games into the season, he injured his thumb and underwent surgery.
Since January, Hill hasn't seen the court. Although the Sixers received positive news regarding Hill's injury when they negotiated a deal for him, the veteran guard is still not able to get cleared to play just yet.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear the medical and coaching staff will not rush Hill back on the court for the sake of getting him to play. Instead, they want to ensure he's one-hundred percent for the eventual playoff run the Sixers will go on.
The good news is that Hill is spending time with the team and getting limited workouts in as he's able to shoot the ball. But the unfortunate news is that the Sixers don't have a timeline for his return set in place. And Doc Rivers' latest update wasn't totally promising.
“He’s on the trip. He’s not playing yet, but he’s on the trip, and he shot today," said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers on Tuesday night. "Again, there’s no timetable that I know of, to be honest. I can’t see it anytime soon, honestly.”
A few weeks ago, when Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey spoke about Hill's injury, he mentioned that it shouldn't be too long before the veteran makes his debut with the team. However, Doc Rivers, who has experienced the same injury as Hill himself before, has been singing a different tune.
“I had that same injury, and that’s not anything you mess around with," Rivers explained. "Just one whack -- you may not get injured -- but the pain is excruciating because your nerves are so raw. We’re going to try to be as tentative as possible with this injury.”
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
