With the 76ers struggling to stay elite in the Eastern Conference, trade chatter has already begun to revolve around their two best players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Questions about their fit and potential as teammates have many thinking a split is inevitable.
For Embiid in particular, there is a growing sense that the Sixers will consider trading him soon. On The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst spoke about the future of Embiid and his potential availability on the trade market.
“But anyways, one of the conversations people are starting to have in the league is ‘will they move Embiid? What’s the price? Where would he go?’
“I’m not going to get into that, but my point is people are talking about that. I don’t think they would do that without making an adjustment to the head coach. It’s such a radical thing, but the fact that we’re in mid-February and the people who work in the league, who have to prepare in advance, are mulling over Joel Embiid potentially coming to market, whether that’s true or not… I mean, Josh Harris can come on this podcast and deny it if he wants, but the fact people are talking about it, is not good. It’s a symptom of where they are.”
Coming into the season, the Sixers were favored to win the East. The combined forces of Embiid and Simmons with production from guys like Tobias Harris and Al Horford were supposed to be enough to get them to the Finals this summer.
Unfortunately, inconsistent play has them sitting at 5th in the Conference, and it would be surprising if they made it past the second round of the playoffs.
Is a major overhaul what this team needs to take the next step? Joel Embiid is certainly a believer in #TheProcess, but now he might find himself a victim of the very thing he has stood by all these years.
