During the Bulls' Friday victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, it was announced that McDermott will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. Dr. Brian Cole, who performed both of Derrick Rose's knee surgeries, will take on this task as well. No timetable has been set for McDermott's return.
In 17 games, none since Nov. 30 at Brooklyn, the Creighton product has averaged just 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.6 minutes while shooting 42 percent from the floor. Not exactly what many had in mind for him coming out of college. The good news is he still has time to make something of his first NBA season. The bad news is it may be awhile before he gets to remedy what he's done so far.
To say it's been a rough year for McDermott so far would be an understatement. For all we know, his knee problems are the sole reason for his struggles and he'll be good as new when he comes back. I just don't want the Bulls to feel like they gave up too much to move up in the draft to get someone who will continue struggling.
To be fair, the Bulls haven't needed him that much to stay at the top of the Central for most of the still-early year. Nikola Mirotic has turned into something impressive and is projected to finish better than the reigning national player of the year. It would be exciting to see at least one rookie live up to the billing early and so far, Mirotic is it.
Still, we should continue to hold out hope that McDermott will have good consistency going forward. We haven't even approached 2015 yet, so stories and issues will come and go. Rose is looking like his old self now while just a few weeks ago, he was being reviled for making comments about his future. Such is the life of a sports team's season.
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