While the hourlong operation should reduce
Iverson's chronic discomfort, Andrews said it did not
guarantee that he would be able to move it more
freely.<br><br>"We've got some work to do in Allen's elbow to get the
motion back in it," Andrews said.<br><br>Coming on the
eve of training camp, the arthroscopic procedures
raised a question: Why were they not done at the end of
the 2000-01 season?<br><br>According to King, both
players had hoped time away from basketball would heal
them.<br><br>"The decision was that rest would probably resolve
it," he said. "Rest did not. . . . But I'd rather be
dealing with this now than in December or
January."<br><br>McPhilemy said he suggested surgery to Iverson as far back
as the night the Sixers lost to the Lakers in Game 5
of the NBA Finals. He said he also raised the issue
with McKie a few times during the
off-season.<br><br>"But suggesting it and getting it done are two
different things," McPhilemy said.<br><br>Iverson's
decision was complicated by his recent wedding and a busy
off-season, McPhilemy said. McKie, meanwhile, had been a free
agent before signing a six-year, $35.5 million deal
this summer, and apparently wanted to resolve that
situation first.<br><br>Andrews said he and the players
watched the Washington-Green Bay Monday Night Football
game the night before. The doctor said he assured
Iverson that he had performed the same procedure on
Packers quarterback Brett Favre a decade ago and that
Favre was throwing as well as ever.<br><br>"I also did
a very similar procedure on [Portland's] Scottie
Pippen last season, and I think he got back pretty
quickly," Andrews said.<br><br>McPhilemy said both players
had been scheduled to see him for an evaluation on
Sept. 11, the day of the terrorist attacks on the
United States. That delayed their final pre-surgical
exam until last week.<br><br>Both players could start
their rehabilitation programs as early as
today.<br><br>"They'll be starting motion exercises probably [today] as
soon as they feel comfortable," said McPhilemy. "We'll
progress their motion exercises slowly over the course of
the next several weeks based on their response. . . .
Then we'll begin some strengthening
exercises."<br><br>Iverson, McKie, Eric Snow, George Lynch and Matt Harpring
will be rehabilitating when camp starts on
Tuesday.<br><br>"I told Larry [Brown] that this could help our team
because it allows other guys to get some playing time
in," King said. "When guys stepped in for injured
players a year ago, I think that really helped them when
we needed them later."<br><br>Iverson, 26, led the
league in scoring for the second time (31.1 points a
game) in pacing the 76ers to the Eastern Conference
championship. McKie averaged a career-high 11.6 points.