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Report: Philadelphia 76ers' Andrew Bynum has degenerative knee condition

On Wednesday's episode of ESPN's debate-style show, First Take, there was a segment dedicated to the struggling 76ers, in which anchors Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless discussed the state of the franchise going forward after Tuesday's embarrassing loss to Orlando that prompted head coach Doug Collins to question his team's effort.

At one point during the discussion, Bayless said that a source inside the Sixers organization told him that the most recent MRI on Andrew Bynum's knees showed "degeneration," meaning in effect that they will never return to full strength. Bynum was also a no-show in the locker room prior to Tuesday's game, when he was scheduled to give an update on his condition.

Bayless continued by explaining that Andrew may show some flashes of the dominance he displayed last season, when he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game for the Lakers, but he will be unable to sustain it, as the knees will never be able to fully recover.

Keep in mind that this is not an official report, and the fact that Bayless, not known for his NBA connections, would be the only one with access to the information should make one somewhat skeptical.

However, if turns out to be true, this would be a huge revelation for the Sixers.

The difficult decision as to whether or not they should take a chance on signing Bynum to a lucrative, long-term deal would be defunct as re-signing him could mean several more years of knee issues and little (or no) production.

If this report is true, then you can bet Bynum and the Sixers will go their separate ways.

Here is the video from ESPN [the comments from Bayless on Bynum start around the 4:15 mark]: