Getty Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
Following their failure to advance past the second round again and the uncertainty regarding if James Harden will be back, all eyes will be on if the Philadelphia 76ers plan to keep Joel Embiid or not. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer squashed any idea of the Sixers trading Embiid at the present time.
“There’s no plan to trade Embiid at any point,” Pompey wrote. “So, yes, he is very much untouchable. There are some who believe the Sixers should consider trading the league MVP because of his injury history and inability to get out of the second round. But it’s not that simple. Embiid is the face of the Sixers and the main reason why they’ve won 154 games over the past three seasons.”
Pompey added why the Sixers won’t be going down the trade route with Embiid.
“They won’t come close to getting equal value for the future Hall of Famer in a trade. Sure, they’ll get several nice pieces and multiple first-round picks. But any trade for Embiid basically would jumpstart The Process Part 2. And if we learned anything from The Process, nothing is guaranteed.”
GM Floats Kawhi Leonard as Trade Package For Joel Embiid
Though it appears Embiid isn’t going anywhere for now, an NBA GM told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney what it would take to get Embiid and who the Sixers could get back for him.
“It would have to be a star, a proven star,” the GM told Deveney. “They want one player back, an even swap. There are not many who fit that with Embiid. Kawhi (Leonard) might be the only guy who really fits, a guy they (the Clippers) might be willing to move off of and who would be in the same category as Embiid, a guy (Daryl Morey) would even consider. I am not even sure Paul George would fit. It would have to be Kawhi. That is just my guess. That’s how strong they are on Joel.”
The GM later explained why the Sixers won’t trade Embiid while Daryl Morey is President of Basketball Operations.
“Daryl Morey wants star players, that has always been his M.O,” the GM told Deveney. “He is not going to trade Embiid for parts or for upside. He can find those on his own. Forget it. The Sixers probably won’t trade Joel Embiid as long as Daryl Morey is there.”
Draymond Green Clowns Joel Embiid on Instagram
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green took to Instagram to mock Embiid after the Sixers failed to eliminate the Boston Celtics despite having a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Green shared a video of Embiid mocking the Warriors during the 2019 playoffs when he referenced that they blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which Embiid said the following.
“It was really important because you wanted to get this one and go home, then try to finish it, so it feels good to be up 3-1, so we definitely don’t want to be in the situation like the Warriors two years ago,” Embiid said.
While posting the video, Green added a caption that said, “This hasn’t aged to(o) well Jo,” per ClutchPoints Twitter account.
Draymond Green reposted this video on IG today after Joel Embiid and the Sixers blew a 3-2 lead vs. the Celtics 😂
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Insider Reveals Sixers’ Offseason Plans With Joel Embiid