Getty Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler developed a close friendship and the big man misses his buddy this year.
Joel Embiid was watching Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with his fingers on the Twitter trigger. As the Boston Celtics’ lead built up a 13-point lead, he thought it was the perfect time to send a message.
Problem is, it probably wasn’t the one that Philadelphia 76ers fans wanted to read. Embiid loves to troll the masses with every key stroke but this one hit home harder. The 7-footer wrote “Miami needs another Star” late in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night, a four-word tweet that caused a whole lot of confusion.
Miami Heat fans saw it as a sign that Embiid wanted to join Jimmy Butler in South Beach. Most Sixers fans saw it as another case of “Joel being Joel” – some, not all of them. There was a good number of Philly fans who viewed Embiid’s message with trepidation.
Sixers fans saw him taking the next flight out of town to team up with Butler, the guy who recently wished he was still teammates with Embiid. And Embiid returned the favor.
“I’m happy for him. I won’t sit here and say I didn’t wish he was my teammate,” Embiid said after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. “I still don’t know how we let him go. I wish I could’ve gone to battle with him still, but it is what it is.”
The latest Sixers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Sixers newsletter here!
Embiid Quickly Walks Back Cryptic Comment
Don’t be fooled. Embiid is a smart tactician on social media. He knew what he threw out there about the Miami Heat was going to get a response. And it did. That’s why he quickly walked it back with a laughing emoji.
Ok y’all are stupid lmao😂😂😂😂
Embiid also paid a huge compliment to the Boston Celtics on his timeline. They beat the Heat 93-80 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. He wrote: “Boston just has too many weapons.”
Embiid Gets Real: ‘Anybody Can Get Traded’
Embiid inked a five-year max contract with the Sixers worth $147.7 million in 2018. He cannot be traded until July 17, 2022 and that’s assuming the Sixers wanted to get rid of him. Which they never would.
Heat fans… Would y’all trade a 24yr old just coming into his own in Bam & 22yr old 6MOY Herro for a 28yr old Embiid ??
Embiid is “The Process” and the front office has gone on record saying they want his input on personnel decisions. Still, it was interesting to hear the 28-year-old star talk about possibly being traded following the Sixers’ 99-90 loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“They can trade me anytime, everything has a price,” Embiid said. “You never know what can happen, I’m sure there are some Philly fans who want that to happen. Like I said, I’m not the GM. They can trade me anytime … Everybody’s gotta get better, it’s not just about me and him. From one through 15, there’s a reason why we lost to Miami, it means we were all not good enough.”