According to Andrew Greif of the LA Times, Clippers rookie Jayden Scrubb will be out 3-4 months after he has surgery this week to insert a screw in his right foot:
Jay Scrubb, the 6-foot-6 guard drafted 55th overall, will undergo surgery this week to insert a screw in his right foot, according to a person with knowledge of the plan who asked for anonymity to discuss the player’s health. The recovery is expected to take three to four months. Scrubb was the junior college player of the year and will receive one of the team’s two two-way contracts. He has explosive athleticism, and the surgery is a step to maintain it in the future.
Scrubb was the 55th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft earlier this month, chosen by the Clippers after they swapped picks 55 and 57 as part of the larger 3-team deal featuring Luke Kennard and Landry Shamet. The National Junior College Player of the Year last season, Scrubb is the rare NBA rookie who comes into the league without experience either in Division I or other professional leagues.
At 20 years old and 6’6″, Scrubb was set to play at Louisville this season before foregoing that opportunity to enter the draft. The Clippers signed him to a two-way contract for the upcoming season. Based on his draft position and background, it had already seemed likely that Scrubb was set to essentially redshirt this season and focus on long-term development to be ready to make an impact in the NBA in 1-2 seasons, when he would have entered the league had he gone to Louisville. The surgery recovery essentially guarantees that, as this procedure will not only hold him out of his rookie year training camp, but also cause him to miss the large majority of the season.
In a year that should already be difficult for rookies, who won’t get Summer League reps and had just a couple of weeks between the draft and training camp to get settled in a new city and work with their new coaches, Scrubb will also be missing training camp and months of potential G-League, practice, and garbage time reps. Expectations, then, should be set to 0–and that’s okay. Jayden was always more of a long-term prospect for the Clippers than a short-term one, and his health and development is far more important than his availability this year.
However, with the team keeping their 15th roster spot open due to hard cap constraints, having one of their two-way players essentially on the IR for most of the season will limit their emergency depth. Fellow two-way prospect Amir Coffey, who is allowed to spend up to 50 games on the team’s active roster, will serve as the team’s de facto 15th man and third-string wing.
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