11-26-2024, 01:12 PM
(11-26-2024, 01:01 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: From Hoopshype quoting Sam Amick:
My understanding is that there was a setback with Joel at some point, but this is where it gets tricky: Joel is notoriously private about his body and pushes the Sixers to be as secretive as possible. This is why they got fined recently. It wasn’t for load management comments—they got fined because their public statements didn’t align with reality. The league dug into Joel’s medical records and concluded his left knee situation was legitimate and serious. The Sixers, however, publicly claimed he was healthy and ready to go, implying it was just load management. That doesn’t sit well with the NBA’s TV partners. It creates confusion, and while I can’t pinpoint the medical term for Joel’s issue, it seems real and concerning. He was fully participating in Team USA activities during the Olympics, so something happened between then and now. It’s clear that his movement isn’t right, and it feels like we’re heading toward an inevitable shutdown procedure for a bigger injury.”
We shouldn´t forget that Embiid was an Oden-esque red flag coming out of college. Maybe this is just the end of the road. Maybe all his perceived lack of training/playing was just smart injury management to a certain extent. I would have handled Yao Ming the same way. Instead he busted out 100 games a year including the national team and by year 7 (?) his body was completely broken down.
Given that their own pick is top 6 protected, they might secretly consider a trade. This would be easier, if they hadn´t loaded up on PG 13.
Though I wonder whether which teams would even be interested in Embiid, who imho is a regular season FT merchant. Indiana? Sacramento?