Miles Plumlee undergoes successful knee surgery

The Charlotte Hornets announced late Tuesday night that Miles Plumlee successfully underwent surgery on his right knee:

Plumlee underwent a arthroscopic debridement, which removes damaged cartilage and bone from the affected joint. Small incisions are made to the knee to wash out the debris. According to the team, Plumlee’s recovery will take between 6-8 weeks, which would put his full recovery time no later than early July.

Its good this problem was identified now rather than later, but this is concerning for a couple of reasons. For one, Plumlee’s injury problems during the season were due to a calf strain, not his knee. Since this procedure removes debris that causes pain and stiffness in the knee, its likely that he had been playing on it throughout the season. This isn’t unheard of, but it isn’t reassuring, either.

Additionally, this shortens his offseason during a summer where solidifying his spot as the backup center would ease the minds of well, everyone. The Hornets don’t have a lot of options in free agency, both from a financial stand point and from the list of available free agent centers. For better or worse, Plumlee is likely going to be Zeller’s backup next season. If all goes according to plan, he will get around two months of offseason work on his own before training camp. Hopefully, all goes well between now and then.