It seems that the cause of Anthony Bennett’s conditioning problems are sleep apnea and asthma. According to NBA.com, these health problems have became a lingering problem during the offseason but as it turns out Bennett been had these issues before he was drafted.
From NBA.com:
Cleveland coach Mike Brown revealed Bennett's conditions Thursday night before the Cavs hosted the Detroit Pistons in an exhibition game. Bennett's asthma was not widely known and obviously did not prevent the Cavs from taking the former UNLV star in June's draft.
Bennett has had some breathing issues during workouts and in preseason games, and him being sometimes winded had been attributed to him not being able to work out as much this summer after undergoing shoulder surgery in May. But Brown said Bennett also deals with asthma and wears a mask at night for his sleep apnea.
"It's a culmination of a lot of things," Brown said. "The shoulder, he's been out for a while, he's got asthma. We're throwing a lot at him. He's probably never played this hard against this competition in his life. He's got sleep apnea and some other things. He likes to stay up late."
Sleep apnea and asthma don't exactly sounds like traditional ailments to really slow a big-time player down. Perhaps that's why the Cavs overlooked them with the top overall pick in last year's draft. The move was a big surprise at the time, and this news makes it a bit more of a head scratcher. If this ends up hurting his career, you can chalk another loss up to the brains in Cleveland.
