COMPILED BY THE INQUIRER STAFF <br>A week before
the 76ers' training camp begins, Allen Iverson and
Aaron McKie are to undergo arthroscopic surgery this
morning in Birmingham, Ala.<br><br>How long Iverson, the
NBA's MVP last season, or McKie, the winner of the
league's Sixth Man Award, will be sidelined will not be
known until after the operations, at the earliest, team
officials said yesterday.<br><br>General manager Billy King
was not available for comment, pending the results of
the operations. Neither were Iverson, who will
undergo surgery on his right elbow, nor McKie, who faces
surgery on his right shoulder.<br><br>The Sixers, who
lost in the NBA Finals in five games to the Los
Angeles Lakers last season, will start training camp at
Penn State next Tuesday. Their first preseason game is
Oct. 9 against Dallas. Their regular season begins
Oct. 30.<br><br>James Andrews will perform both
operations, with assistance from Jack McPhilemy, the Sixers'
team physician. <br><br>Despite suffering from a sore
elbow for most of last season, Iverson led the NBA in
scoring for the second time in three years, averaging
31.1 points per game. He also led the league in steals
per game (2.51) and tied for first in minutes per
game (42).<br><br>McKie averaged career highs in
scoring (11.6 points per game), rebounds (4.1), assists
(5), steals (1.39) and minutes (31.5).<br><br>Iverson
and McKie aren't the only Sixers injured or
recovering from injuries. Point guard Eric Snow spent the
postseason playing with a screw in his broken right ankle;
forward George Lynch suffered a broken left foot in the
second round of the playoffs; and swingman Matt
Harpring, whom the Sixers acquired from Cleveland in early
August, underwent surgery a month ago to remove bone
spurs from his right ankle.<br><br>The news that
Iverson would undergo surgery first appeared on the Web
site of his company, CrossOver
Promotions.<br><br>"After a visit to a team specialist," the site reported,
"it has been determined that Allen will undergo
surgery on his inflamed elbow to remove bone fragments
prior to the 2001-2002 season. It is possible that he
may begin the season on the injury list. Stay tuned."
<br><br>Two sign elsewhere. Two of last season's Sixers
signed with other teams as free agents yesterday. Rodney
Buford signed with Miami, where he played as a rookie in
1999-2000, and Kevin Ollie moved to Chicago.<br><br>Buford,
a 6-foot-5 swingman, averaged 5.3 points and 1.6
rebounds in the regular season and 1.4 points in the
playoffs for the Sixers last season after having been
waived by Charlotte.<br><br>Ollie, a 6-2 point guard,
averaged 3.8 points and 2.4 assists for the Sixers. In his
four NBA seasons, he also has played for New Jersey,
Dallas, Orlando and Sacramento.