Joel Embiid finally won the first MVP award of his career for his elite performance during the 2022-23 NBA season. But come playoff time, the Philadelphia 76ers blew a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. the Boston Celtics.
It was another disappointing end to the 76ers’ postseason. The organization fired Doc Rivers and replaced him with Nick Nurse as the team’s new head coach. But what if the 76ers have another disappointing run in the playoffs? According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, it could lead to Embiid getting traded to the New York Knicks.
“There’s so much focus right now on James Harden, but what happens if they go back into the postseason and this team just cannot get through the brick wall that is the second round?” Friedell said on a recent episode of First Take. “What occurs then? It means, a year from now, we’re going to be sitting here, and the NBA world will be wondering, ‘Has Joel Embiid had enough?’ It is the question that has been rumbling underneath the surface around the league right now.”
The ESPN analyst added: “At what point does Joel Embiid look around and go, ‘It’s not happening for me, here, I need to go elsewhere.’ I’m telling you all right now: the team to keep an eye on sits right here in New York City, and it’s the Knicks because they would love nothing more than to put every asset they have just like every other team and say, ‘Hey Joel come play at the Garden, come be around Jalen Brunson and be in a situation that is ready-made for you to compete for a title right away.”
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Joel Embiid signed a massive four-year $213 million supermax contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022. His new deal will kick in from the 2023-24 NBA season. While Embiid had a great regular season where he averaged 33.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 4.2 APG, he couldn’t help the 76ers get out of the second round.
Moreover, James Harden is reportedly torn apart about his future with the Philadelphia 76ers. Even if Harden returns to the team this season, there is no guarantee that the 76ers make a deep playoff run.
The organization has been eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in five out of their last six seasons. If they face the same fate once again, Embiid may finally demand a trade and the Knicks are expected to be a destination for him.
Joel Embiid Could Get Traded If The Philadelphia 76ers Do Not Make The Eastern Conference Finals In 2024
Joel Embiid has become a phenomenal player over the course of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. But Embiid has a tendency to disappear during the postseason.
The 29-year-old averaged 23.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG in the 2023 playoffs. He had the largest PPG drop by an NBA MVP in the history of the league. So, there is a lot of pressure on his shoulders to prove his doubters wrong.
A part of that process would be to lead the 76ers to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2024 playoffs. Embiid could reportedly get traded if he fails to reach that goal.
In that scenario, the Knicks may try to trade for Embiid. The Knicks finished the 2022-23 NBA season with a 47-35 record in the East. They were eliminated in six games by the Miami Heat.
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