Joel Embiid, the 76ers‘ pillar, has already made enough headlines this season concerning his knee injury. It seems like he’s the poster boy of promising careers hampered by the injury demon. ESPN’s Shams Charania has further put his season in doubt after confirming the possibility of a second surgery after regular injections didn’t do the trick. While it might look like he’s just an unnecessary asterisk on the payroll from the outside, they are in no hurry to offload their main man.
While someone as reliable as Charania did touch on a follow-up surgery, other sources mention a similar route not to be taken by the Sixers. They currently sit 12th in the East, with playoffs seeming like a far-fetched notion. The logical route would be to offload a nearly $193 million injury-prone risk, but logic doesn’t necessarily win you titles. Despite a 20-38 record, they sit just 2.5 games out of 10th place, which would guarantee them a play-in spot. And they feel that Embiid’s part to play in the ‘process’ still holds an ounce of water.
Trading him would’ve opened up a huge wave of possibilities for Philadelphia. Sources say that they could’ve extracted every possible draft pick the New York Knicks had before they ended up with Mikal Bridges from the Nets and Karl-Anthony Towns from the Timberwolves. And if Embiid ever reached the trade market, the Knicks were the direct threat to pounce on the opportunity. But they’ve made their stance clear now- he isn’t going anywhere. JoJo still has unfinished business with Philly.
The New York Knicks were rumored to be willing to trade every single one of their draft picks for Joel Embiid before pivoting to Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, per @JakeLFischer
“Once upon a time, Philly presumably could have extracted every draft pick that New York… pic.twitter.com/1QQS0rCsbW
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 27, 2025
Ever since he was selected as the third overall pick in the 2014 draft by the 76ers, JoJo has played like he has a point to prove.
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