- The Philadelphia 76ers don’t really have the assets to build around Joel Embiid
- Joel Embiid has been injury-prone during his time with the franchise
- The team has not had much playoff success with Joel Embiid at the helm
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that has long been a consistently competitive squad, making the playoffs every single year since the 2017-18 season. However, the team has not been able to have meaningful postseason success thus far, with them not yet getting past the second round during the time superstar Joel Embiid has been with the franchise.
Though some of the team’s lack of success does lie on Joel Embiid’s shoulders, it is also fair to say that the team hasn’t done the best job of building around him. With that being said, at some point, the question should be asked: can Joel Embiid be the leading superstar on a championship-winning team? The follow-up question to that would be whether the team can successfully build around Joel Embiid even if he can bring the team a championship.
The team has a limited amount of assets right now, with only one tradeable first-round pick for the next few years. Unless they trade budding star Tyrese Maxey, then there’s no guarantee that they will get a player that can help them win a championship that fits Joel Embiid’s timeline.
Perhaps now is the time for the Philadelphia 76ers to explore trading Joel Embiid. He is at the peak of his value, having won the 2022-23 MVP award, and would likely net the 76ers an elite haul that can help them kick-start a rebuild. This article will give three reasons why the Philadelphia 76ers should consider trading Joel Embiid.
3. Injury Issues
Even though Joel Embiid is an extremely dominant player when he is on the court, there is no doubt that he frequently deals with injury issues. In fact, a lot of those injuries pop up during playoff time. For example, Embiid suffered an LCL sprain during the Brooklyn Nets series in the 2023 playoffs. In the 2022 playoffs, he dealt with a torn ligament in his thumb and suffered a broken orbital bone as well.
Injuries are part of the game, and it is unfortunate that a talented player like Joel Embiid has had to deal with so many injury issues during playoff time. However, that could mean that the Philadelphia 76ers need to trade him.
There is a very well-known saying that states “availability is the best ability” when it comes to basketball. At some point, the amount of games has to matter when evaluating a player. If Joel Embiid is consistently injured in the playoffs, then that is clearly an issue for the team, as they need him to be at their best in the postseason to have a legitimate chance of winning a championship. Even in the regular season, his injuries can be a problem: Joel Embiid has only played more than 65 games twice in his career.
2. Postseason Disappearances
The best players have to show up in the biggest moments, and to be fair to Joel Embiid, he is far from the worst performer in the playoffs. Still, we have seen Joel Embiid fade when it comes to important games in the playoffs, and we need to look no further than this year for examples.
Though Joel Embiid averaged 25.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 3.0 BPG against the Boston Celtics in the second round this year, he was highly inefficient in doing so, only shooting 42.1% from the field and 20.0% from the 3PT range. He averaged 33.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 1.7 BPG for the team in the regular season, and it is clear that his rebounding took a dip against the Celtics. Embiid notably had a very poor performance in Game 7 as well, only getting 15 points and 8 rebounds, while shooting 27.8% from the field.
Of course, we have seen stars bounce back from their poor performances, and dominate in the playoffs before. Joel Embiid has had a fair share of good series as well, and in the 2023 playoffs, there were times when he looked like his MVP self. Still, his inconsistency and overall poor performances against elite defenses are a concern for the Philadelphia 76ers, and that is another reason the team should consider moving him.
1. Lack Of Overall Playoff Success
After the Philadelphia 76ers lost in the 2023 playoffs to the Boston Celtics in the second round, an interesting fact made its way around social media. Joel Embiid is the only MVP in NBA history to never make the Conference Finals, and it is clear that he has not been able to lead his team deep into the playoffs thus far. That is concerning, as he is in the middle of his prime right now, and it is fair to say that next season, there will be a lot of pressure on him to succeed.
Of course, basketball is a team sport. Not all of the Philadelphia 76ers’ flameouts can be attributed to Joel Embiid. We have seen the team surround him with subpar talent, and everyone remembers Ben Simmons passing up a layup against Trae Young. However, some of it should be placed on him, as he is the face of the franchise, and is expected to dominate no matter the circumstances. Superstars like Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have all won series and elevated their performances even when their teammates were struggling. To get to their level, Joel Embiid must do the same thing.
There is no doubt that Joel Embiid is a talented player that can show his dominance on both ends of the floor on any given night. However, his inability to translate that dominance into team success is a concerning sign. This year, he had the talent to go far in the playoffs, and the opportunity to close out the Boston Celtics at home in Philadelphia in Game 6. Also, the Philadelphia 76ers would likely have been able to get past the Miami Heat if they had made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, paving the way for Joel Embiid to face Nikola Jokic in the Finals. However, all that is hypothetical.
At some point, we can’t keep blaming roster construction for Joel Embiid’s lack of playoff success. We will see if the Philadelphia 76ers will trade Joel Embiid this season: overall, it’s unlikely that a move will happen. Despite that, it is clear that this is something that the team should at least have a discussion about.
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