Ian Mahinmi: Out for the Season

by Timothy Varner

According to the French newspaper L’équipe (dead tree PDF available here), Ian Mahinmi will have season-ending surgery to correct  a right ankle sprain that will not fully heal.

Spurs fans have held their breath for Mahinmi, hoping that his return would add a productive body to the frontline. Or, perhaps, more modestly, hoping that he would simply earn enough game minutes to hasten his development.

The decision to end Mahinmi’s season in favor of surgery has another important ripple.  He is one of the few attractive trade assets the Spurs possess–one wonders if this surgery ruins the team’s chances of involving him in a trade deal, should something materialize.