Remember that whole issue with Jamal Sampson? Well, it turns out that he still hasn’t been released from his contract by Smart Gilas. Last week, he wrote in with some bad news:

Well, this story gets better. The knee I hurt in Dubai, that the team was mad that I didn’t play in the final two games, well I took an MRI when I got back to the Philippines, and they told me it was basically tendinitis in my knee, and I was fine.

It’s been two months since Dubai, and I’ve been home here getting therapy on it, and working out and trying to stay in shape, but it’s still bothering me and hurting. So yesterday, my agent made me an appointment with the Los Angeles Clippers team doctor, and I took an MRI, and he told me I have a torn meniscus in my knee, and I need surgery. This was also confirmed by the Lakers team doctor. Two NBA doctors. I’m scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.

And Smart told me my knee was fine.

Sampson followed up by saying that the surgery went well, and he’s scheduled to begin rehab next week. Still, it can’t be a good feeling for Sampson to end up with a knee injury after an ugly contract dispute with his former team, especially since he’s claiming that Gilas still owes him money. (Sampson furnished Fire Quinito with a recent email from an SBP employee discussing details of a wire transfer for his January salary.)

To be fair to the Philippine doctors who checked him out, maybe he didn’t have the torn meniscus yet when he had an MRI here in the country. Still, it’s a good thing that Sampson listened to his body. Otherwise, he would’ve ended up with a much worse injury while stuck with a team that hadn’t been prompt about paying him.

Forgetting about Sampson for a minute, this can’t bode well for Smart Gilas’ chances in getting a top-flight reinforcement for its campaign, with the team already struggling to sign a prospect as it is. It’s the kind of thing that spreads quickly in those American minor league basketball circles.

In fact I asked Sampson about this, and it turns out that some Gilas prospects have already gotten in touch with him: “A couple of their replacement options have contacted me, to ask what happened while I was there, so I told them. So I’m sure that hasn’t helped them.”

Meanwhile, the search continues for Gilas. On Twitter, Charles Tiu (Chris’s brother) reports that the team is looking to bring in former UCLA center Michael Fey, who spent the season with the LA D-Fenders of the D-League.