As we heard earlier, Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com was able to track down Sixers President Rod Thorn for some answers on the Andrew Bynum situation in Philadelphia. It appears Thorn answered more than just a few questions, as Jason Wolf from the Wilmington News Journal reports that the Sixers front man also addressed the insurance issue with regard to the $16.9MM salary that Bynum is in the process of collecting in 2012-13.
Prior to Wednesday's 76ers matchup with the Heat, Thorn said, “There is a league-wide insurance that he’s under that gives you some relief along those lines. It’s the same league-wide program that every player’s under. Unless you have a pre-existing condition – and he didn’t – so he’s on the same one as everybody else."
Wolf says that this news supports the 76ers' claim that four doctors inspected Bynum's health, and in effect approved the trade. Thorn wouldn't, however, go as far as to divulge the percentage of Bynum's salary that insurance would cover. According to Thorn, it sounds like Bynum will be the one deciding whether or not he will address his knee problems with surgery in the near future.
“He’s had problems," Thorn said. "He’s worked very hard. As you can see when you see him, he’s huge. His upper body, he works in the weight room, he works hard, he just hasn’t been able to play. It’s been very tough for him and obviously it’s been very tough for us.”
As we outlined in Bynum's Free Agent Stock Watch post, the seven-footer's future is one of the more unpredictable in recent NBA memory. Thorn, as well as new general manager Tony DiLeo, have a near-impossible decision on their hands. The Sixers gave up a ton for Bynum and expected him to elevate them into legitimate contention. Nearly everything has gone wrong since, leading to widespread speculation about what will happen next.
“Obviously, to have a player of that ilk, a player who can make such a difference, any time you don’t have that kind of player it’s tough,” Thorn said. “Who knows what’s going to happen when the season’s over?”