It was the worst possible news—Jabari Parker has a torn ACL in his left knee and his rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks is over after just 25 games.
Parker went down without contact while driving to the basket during the Bucks’ win at Phoenix Monday night.
He was carried off the floor and the fears were very real, fears that were confirmed with the clanking of an MRI machine Tuesday night, according to ESPN.
The No. 2 overall pick in the draft was the favorite for Rookie of the Year honors and was averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds for the shockingly improved Bucks, who are 13-12 and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
A lot of writers are writing off the Bucks in 2014-15 as a result of the injury.
Not so fast.
It may not look like it right now, with John Henson and Ersan Ilyasova remaining home in Milwaukee with injuries while the Bucks play a four-game West Coast swing, but power forward is a position of depth for the team.
Henson (sprained foot) and Ilyasova (nasal fractures) are out for the short term, but will enable Milwaukee to weather the storm, at least in terms of the starting lineup.
Who steps up to replace Ilyasova’s bench production is a relevant question if he is the one chosen to start (once he’s healthy enough to play), but that can be dealt with later.
Let’s be brutally honest—the Eastern Conference is a freaking dumpster fire outside of Toronto, Chicago and (maybe) Cleveland.
If the Bucks want to remain in the playoff hunt, the tools are there for them to do so.
Nov 18, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) is congratulated by center Zaza Pachulia (27) after a basket in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Where I see this injury affecting Milwaukee the most is a couple of months from now, when guys like Ilyasova and possibly Zaza Pachulia could have been potential trade bait at the deadline. Parker’s presence made that possible.
Without Parker, general manager John Hammond and ownership will have to prioritize—do you go for a playoff run now or do you do the prudent long-term thing and look to increase salary-cap flexibility for the future while assembling future assets?
The way that sentence is written should give you an indication of which way I lean.
A playoff spot would be terrific, amazing, awesome—hell, pick your adjective that means peachy-keen, gnarly-dandy—in the wake of last season’s HAZMAT mission.
But it would also be an unexpected bonus for a team that has made the decision to stop playing to be mediocre and actually try and build a championship core.
That means that if the right deal comes along in February that strengthens the future of the franchise, you have to consider it … even if it means giving up a couple of wins in the here and now.
The Bucks aren’t in a full-fledged, shameless tank mode—something I would have a major problem with—but that doesn’t mean that decisions can’t be viewed through the prism of where the franchise wants to be in five years rather than trying to get a 41st or 42nd win to become first-round fodder right now.
And younger players—Parker will be 20 in March—tend to rebound more quickly and more completely from this injury. Jamal Crawford had a devastating knee injury early in his career and he’s a multiple Sixth Man of the Year award winner known as JCrossover, so his quickness and athleticism came out just fine.
It’s a setback for Parker, to be sure. Instead of working on his game this summer, he’ll be working to get his knee back.
There’s undoubtedly going to be some lost developmental time.
But let’s not pour the gasoline and light the match on the 2014-15 season just yet.
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