Thunder's Roberson suffers setback, will be re-evaluated in 2 months
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without defensive stalwart Andre Roberson for even longer than they had originally anticipated.
The 26-year-old forward has suffered a setback in his recovery from left patellar knee surgery back in January, a team spokesperson told the Oklahoman's Erik Horne.
A suture had been causing Roberson some discomfort that he was unable to play through, forcing him to undergo a procedure on Thursday to alleviate the irritation.
He'll be re-evaluated in two months, which would keep him sidelined for at least the first 22 games of the upcoming regular season.
The Thunder expected Roberson back at some point in November. He'd been participating in post-practice drills, but hadn't been cleared for full contact.
With Roberson on the floor in 2017-18, Oklahoma City allowed 11.2 fewer points per 100 possessions (96.4), with that number soaring to 107.6 points when he sat. He was also tasked with defending the opposing team's leader in usage rate on 25 percent of his defensive possessions, according to FanSided's Jared Dubin.
On offense, Roberson contributed five points and 4.7 rebounds on 53.7 percent shooting from the field in 39 appearances prior to his season ending.