Getty Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center.
New York Knicks President Leon Rose was invited to Joel Embiid‘s wedding amid rumors of his uncertain future in Philadelphia.
“Two of Embiid’s former agents are high-ranking officials with Eastern Conference teams — New York’s Leon Rose and Detroit’s Arn Tellem — and both were invited to Embiid’s recent wedding,” NBA insider Marc Stein reported in his latest Substack newsletter.
His strong ties with Rose are one of the major reasons why Embiid had been linked to the Knicks, aside from their deep draft capital should the Sixers’ superstar demand a trade.
Embiid teased a future outside of Philadelphia for the first time in a July 13 interview with Maverick Carter discussing the launch of his Miniature Géant Studio.
“I just want to win a championship, whatever it takes,” the reigning NBA MVP told Carter. “I don’t know where that’s going to be — whether in Philly or anywhere else — I just want to have a chance to accomplish that.
The video quickly made the rounds and spawned speculations about his immediate future with the Sixers amid his co-star James Harden’s trade demand.
“I mean, line up the Acela Express and get sent him up to New York,” ESPN insider Dave McMenamin said on the July 17 episode of The Lowe Post podcast with Zach Lowe. “That’s been what has been the murmurs. You said, New York. We’ve all heard New York. We know the connection between Leon Rose and Joel Embiid.”
Sixers GM Daryl Morey quickly touched base with Embiid after his controversial statement, per SNY’s Ian Begley.
After the comments went viral, Embiid and Sixers team president Daryl Morey touched base. One theme of the conversation, per people familiar with the matter: Embiid wants to be in Philly and win in Philly. Both team and player envision Embiid on aDerek Jeter-type trajectory: remaining as the face of his franchise until he retires. (The longevity theme is something The Athletic’s Sam Amick touched on earlier this week.),” Begley wrote in his July 19 SNY Mailbag.
Jalen Brunson to Lead Team USA’s Gold Medal Bid
Team USA coach Steve Kerr is leaning on Jalen Brunson to lead Team USA’s gold medal bid in the 2023 FIBA World Cup later this month in Manila, Philippines.
“I think Jalen is such a natural leader,” Kerr told ESPN. “Because he’s a point guard, he immediately comes to mind. He’s the one who’s leading the ‘1, 2, 3 USA’ chant. Some guys just, it just comes naturally to them.”
“But we’ve got a great group. There’s leadership that comes from a lot of them and it’s fun to see.”
Brunson has started in all Team USA’s scrimmages, alongside Brooklyn Nets’ and his former Villanova teammate Mikal Bridges, New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram and NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jalen Brunson Deflects Credit for Julius Randle’s Turnaround
Julius Randle credited Brunson for his second All-Star season following a disappointing year before the point guard’s arrival.
“One of the biggest people that honestly pushed me was Jalen, my teammate, because I saw how he worked,” Randle said Wednesday in an episode of The Shop: Uninterrupted in Brooklyn. “And I’m a worker. And I saw how diligent he was, his focus level to it. So JB’s really pushed me.”
But Brunson showed why he’s the undisputed leader of the team by deflecting the credit back to Randle.
“The one thing I know is Julius does the work,” Brunson told SNY’s Ian Begley after Team USA’s scrimmage in Las Vegas on Friday. “That’s a compliment coming from him, but he has the mindset. I may have helped a little bit, but that’s really all him. He’s a worker, he comes in every day and does what he has to do at practice. He makes sure he gets all his work in.”