Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks takes a shot as Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers blocks in the second half at Madison Square Garden.
Joel Embiid riding the “Acela Express” heading to the New York Knicks will remain a pipe dream for now.
SNY’s Knicks insider Ian Begley pumped the breaks on the Embiid-to-the-Knicks talks following the reigning MVP’s comments about competing for a championship “whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else” at The UNINTERRUPTED Film Festival last week.
According to Begley, Sixers team president Daryl Morey touched base with Embiid after the comments went viral.
“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 a Derek Jeter-type trajectory: remaining as the face of his franchise until he retires,” Begley wrote.
“As you’d imagine, the Sixers have absolutely no plans to trade Embiid to the Knicks – or anywhere else, per people familiar with the matter. So any hypothetical conversation about Embiid to the Knicks – or anywhere else – should be put on hold for the moment,” Begley added.
Embiid’s future in Philadelphia became the subject of speculation after his co-star James Harden requested a trade following the Sixers’ second-round exit in the playoffs — their fourth in the last five seasons.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon in May, the Knicks believe an Embiid-Jalen Brunson pairing would make them a championship contender.
“[With] Donovan Mitchell [last summer], they decided not to go all in,” MacMahon said on the May 15 episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast. “They were willing to go a lot in, [but] they did not go all in because they did the calculus — or whatever you want to say — and did not feel like getting Donovan Mitchell to pair with Jalen Brunson put them in a championship position.
“I am pretty confident in saying that they feel like putting Joel Embiid on that roster with Jalen Brunson as their second-best player would give them a legitimate chance to win championships, and I believe that to be true despite the fact that what we just said about Joel Embiid and his history of playoff disappointments,” MacMahon added.
Zach Lowe Not Buying Joel Embiid’s Trolling Excuse
Embiid tried to downplay his now-viral comments, suggesting he was only trolling in reply to a Sixers fan on Twitter.
But ESPN’s senior writer Zach Lowe isn’t buying it.
“All the teams with draft picks, the Knicks are lurking, and Joel tried to, on Twitter, kind of play this off, ‘Oh, I’m a troll. I’m just trolling.’ I don’t buy it. He’s too smart for that. He knows exactly what he’s doing by saying that. He knows the door that he’s opening,” Lowe said on the July 17 episode of his The Lowe Post podcast.
Knicks Sign Nathan Knight to Two-Way Deal
The Knicks quietly signed former Minnesota Timberwolves big man Nathan Knight to a two-way deal amid the Embiid rumors, according to Anil Gogna, Director of Strategy of Thread Sports Management & Cap Specialist of No Trade Clause.
The 6-foot-10 Knight averaged 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.7 minutes across 38 games last season with the Timberwolves. The 253-pound Syracuse native can play both the center and power forward positions.