Reggie Bullock may not play for the Knicks until 2020. The wing underwent “cervical disc herniation” surgery, something that usually requires six months of recovering times, Marc Berman of The New York Post hears. That could mean Bullock won’t make his Knicks’ debut until after Christmas.
New York agreed to a two-year, $21 million deal with Bullock early in free agency, though they red-flagged him during his physical with team doctors. The Knicks voided the arrangement and renegotiated a new contract that will pay him $4 million in 2019-20 (it’s a two year deal with a team option in year two). Bullock has never made more than $2.5 million in a season since coming into the league in 2013.
“It’s actually neck surgery he had,’’ Dr. Wellington Hsutold, Northwestern University’s director of research/orthopedic surgery, tells Berman. “But it’s a surgery where you are able to get back to the same level as you were before.’’
Former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had the same surgery and won the NFL’s MVP two years later. Former NBA point guard T.J. Ford underwent the surgery during his rookie season and while he played well once he was able to make it back on to the court, he retired at age 28.
Bullock, who will turn 29 in March, missed 19 games last season because of neck stiffness and plantar fascitis.
The Baltimore-native didn’t begin to see significant minutes until he got to Detroit. During his breakout 2017-18 season, Bullock scored 11.3 points per game while shooting .445 from behind the arc. The 2019 offseason was the first time Bullock was a free agent since that breakout year.
