Bad knees force Geiger's retirement

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Philadelphia 76ers center Matt Geiger, whose availability and effectiveness have been severely limited by chronic knee problems, announced his retirement Wednesday.

Geiger's announcement came after he was waived by the 76ers. He was in the fourth year of a six-year, $48 million contract and had been on the injured list since Nov. 9 with degenerative arthritis in both knees.

"Matt is no longer able to effectively play professional basketball because of his ongoing knee problems," 76ers team physician Dr. Jack McPhilemy said.

"I can see nothing else which we can offer to Matt which will come close to ensuring that he will be able to resume playing professional basketball in a normal, pain-free, swelling-free environment. Matt asked if there was anything more that could be done to help his condition and my answer to him was, 'no.'"

The 7-1 Geiger had missed large chunks of the last two seasons and appeared on his way to another injury-plagued campaign. He played just four games this season.

Geiger, 31, missed the first 17 games of the 1999-2000 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He had surgery on both knees last season, when he played just 35 games.

"Matt returned this season positive and hopeful that the rest and rehab he obtained this summer would allow him to play this season pain- and swelling-free," Sixers general manager Billy King said. "As camp began this year, the swelling returned, as did the pain.

"To Matt's credit, he did everything possible to try to play. He had to have his knees drained weekly and, unfortunately, everything that was done for him medically during his stay with the Sixers has been unable to allow him to play."

Geiger signed with the 76ers on Jan. 21, 1999 and played all 50 games of the lockout-shortened season, averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.

However, as his knee problems got worse, so did his statistics. He averaged 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in 1999-2000 and 6.1 and 4.0 last season.

One of Geiger's biggest contributions to the 76ers was quite an accident. During the summer of 2000, Geiger was headed to the Detroit Pistons with superstar guard Allen Iverson in a huge trade involving four teams and more than 20 players.

However, the Pistons were unwilling to take the 15 percent trade kicker in Geiger's contract, scuttling the deal. Iverson remained with Philadelphia, improved his attitude toward coach Larry Brown and led the team to the NBA Finals.