Jason Richardson injury likely to sideline him until at least January

Richardson’s specific knee problem -- a large hole in the meniscus -- usually requires the well-known and widely-feared microfracture surgery. The veteran guard took a different route for treatment, however, instead deciding to undergo Denovo surgery. He explained the procedure to MLive.com in March via email.

“Going to several doctors to see what was the best procedure to have, I decided to go with a fairly new procedure called Denovo surgery. It’s a surgery where they take juvenile cartilage and implant it back into my knee where the cartilage damage occur.”

That put the timetable for Richardson’s return around January or February, but how he recovers from Denovo surgery isn’t the only thing to take into account.

The Sixers are arguably the team leading the tanking race heading into the well-regarded 2014 draft. New general manager Sam Hinkie has been open about very few things -- Cooney examined him in a Q&A with Hinkie posted -- but he has said he 76ers would take their time filling out the roster with free agents.

That leads to the heavy belief Philadelphia is putting its eggs into the roster development basket this year as it rebuilds. It also likely means there’s little reason to rush back Richardson, a 32-year-old veteran who played in just 33 games last year and seems to be aging worse than most players his age due to his early-career athleticism.

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