Joel Embiid was ruled out for the season a few weeks ago, with Shams Charania revealing a few days ago that Embiid underwent surgery on his knee. It was a troubled season for Embiid, who played just 19 games, as the 76ers are trying to tank to the bottom of the East. With Paul George and Tyrese Maxey also having season-ending surgeries, this is a disastrous season for Philly.
In a recent appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today, Shams Charania reported there’s ‘tension’ between Embiid and the 76ers over his health. The 76ers wanted Embiid to push through injuries, but Embiid insisted he needed surgery to fix his knee issues.
“There was some tension there between Joel Embiid and that front office, from my understanding. The team believed he needed to play at some points of the season, that he needed to get his conditioning right through playing and getting better that way. He felt like he needed surgery. He ends up getting the surgery.”
Shams: “One thing as well to keep in mind here going into the offseason, there was some tension there between Joel Embiid and that front office from my understanding…The team believed he needed to play at some point…He felt like he needed surgery.” 😳
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) April 3, 2025
This is not good news for the 76ers. Embiid’s injury issues have greatly impacted his ability to stay healthy in the last two seasons. He’s played through plenty of injuries, especially last season in the Playoffs. Some even believe that trying to play through those injuries is what has caused his health to worsen.
He averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists this season. Philly is currently 23-54 and hoping the draft lottery Gods smile on them by helping them keep their top-six protected pick at the minimum or having them jump to the No. 1 pick at the maximum.
The 76ers Might Be At The End Of The Road With Joel Embiid
Despite taking time off at the start of the season, Joel Embiid never really got going this season after spending the summer with Team USA at the Olympics. The lightened load he had this season and surgery right now will make people feel optimistic about Embiid returning in time for the start of next season.
The larger concern has to be his relationship with the 76ers. With four years and $247 million remaining on Embiid’s contract, the 76ers might start questioning if it’s worth paying him that much in his 30s when he’s been healthy for just about half the games in his career.
The 76ers are paying $715 million to Embiid, George, and Maxey until 2029, so cost-cutting might be a priority for the franchise if they fail to contend.
Embiid is a former MVP, but given how cutthroat the Dallas Mavericks were with Luka Doncic, trading him away shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. Doncic took his franchise to far greater heights in the Playoffs and was younger, so the 76ers might have to have tough internal discussions.
With Embiid’s injury history and long-term contract, not many people will line up to acquire him despite his obvious talent. There are murmurs that the 76ers considered a medical retirement for Embiid to give him a year or more away from the sport to heal up while opening up cap room to remain competitive in the short term.
There’s literally no precedent for that happening, so he’s bound to stay on the books. Whether we ever see prime Embiid on the court again is a mystery, but his declining relationship with the 76ers shows that he needs to find that version again to stay with the franchise.
