Zhaire Smith has yet to make his debut for the Sixers this season and that moment may not come during the 2018/19 campaign.
Philadelphia announced earlier this month that Smith underwent “medical treatment for complications derived from the allergic reaction that initially required a thoracoscopy” and while there was no timetable for his return, reporters were told that Smith’s return to the court would not come in 2018.
According to The Ringer’s John Gonzalez, Smith is “in danger” of missing not just the rest of the calendar year but the entire season. Gonzalez hears that the rookie has undergone several procedures to address the allergy issue and he’s lost “upwards of 20 pounds” in the process.
Leading up to the complication, the Sixers were aware of Smith’s peanut allergy and they had prepared Smith’s food separately. However, the team was unaware that he also had a sesame allergy, Gonzalez writes, and it’s possible that Smith ate something from the facility with sesame in it that triggered the reaction.
Philadelphia acquired Smith’s rights, along with a future first-round pick, on draft night in exchange for No. 10 overall pick Mikal Bridges. Smith was the No. 16 overall selection out of Texas Tech.
Next year’s roy
Hope he gets better soon. It sounds like he is lucky. This could have been a lot worse. Allergies and asthma are super debilitating, as well as life threatening at times, especially in severe cases. As someone that knows about dealing with those, I just hope he is more careful in the future. The tough part is not always being able to rely on what other people tell you about ingredients, or assuming they know not to put certain things in there that you know they know you are allergic to. You would be surprised what people have made those kinds of mistakes with me, and may have lead to death, if I were someone else. When in doubt, I always pass
People just don’t want to believe peanuts can cause damage. Also, there is a peanut industry pushing back against recognition.
Eating peanuts gives me psoriasis and quitting peanuts stops it, but the problem is recorded as psoriasis not peanuts!