The Philadelphia 76ers are caught with Joel Embiid, albeit the previous NBA MVP hardly being match.
The 2024-25 NBA season hasn’t been good for the Philadelphia 76ers regardless of having a seemingly profitable offseason the place they signed celebrity Paul George.
Whereas George’s struggles are one factor, the extra distinguished concern for the staff has been the continued absence of Joel Embiid.
Embiid has been out and in of the lineup because of his knee harm. Consequently, he has performed simply 17 video games this season, however the worst half is that the 76ers can’t discover the commerce marketplace for their 30-year-old celebrity.
The 76ers fanbase was in shambles after discovering out that Embiid might have to bear one other knee surgical procedure to get wholesome.
Consequently, many are demanding that the 76ers commerce him, however ESPN’s Bobby Marks not too long ago defined why the franchise can’t discover that route.
Marks mentioned: “They’re married to this group. In the event that they ever needed to place Joel Embiid on the commerce market, I don’t suppose he would move his bodily to be actual trustworthy with you. That is the place they’re proper now.”
When wholesome, Embiid is undoubtedly probably the greatest gamers within the league. Nonetheless, Joel has at all times been an injury-prone star.
The state of affairs has change into a lot worse during the last couple of years as he has performed simply 56 video games for the reason that begin of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Furthermore, the poor situation of Embiid’s knees isn’t a well-kept secret, so no staff would threat buying and selling for a participant who makes sporadic appearances and is about to earn a mean wage of $64.3 million over the following three years.
The Los Angeles Lakers made headlines once they traded for Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets. Nonetheless, the Lakers rapidly vetoed the commerce after Williams failed the bodily take a look at.
Whereas the Hornets have objected to the Lakers’ choice, the 17-time NBA champions have already acquired their gamers and property again.
Williams has additionally struggled to maintain himself wholesome because of a plethora of accidents and if Embiid turns into obtainable on the commerce market, NBA groups can be fearful about the identical outcome.
So, as Marks mentioned, the 76ers are caught with their present group, who’s simply 20-34 for the season.
