There is a school of thought out there that the Philadelphia 76ers should consider trading away superstar big man Joel Embiid. There are some out there who wonder if the big fella will ever reach the level he was once at when he was undeniably a top 3 player in the league after winning MVP in 2023.
He was on his way to winning another MVP in 2024 before that January night when his knee was fallen on by Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. It was an unfortunate event that derailed both his and Philadelphia’s season. He was then limited to only 19 games in the 2024-25 season as he dealt with the injury and had to undergo a second surgery in a span of 14 months.
Therefore, some have floated out the idea that the Sixers should look into trading Embiid, but former GM Billy King pushed back on that idea:
The hardest thing is knowing that when Joel is healthy, he’s one of the best players in the league. Everybody’s going to say, ‘Well, he’s never healthy.’ But the thing about it is, when you trade him, you’re never getting players of equal value.
I think they have to get more athletic around Joel. If you’re watching Oklahoma City, Indiana, you watch Boston; I think you need as many 6’8″ athletes as possible to be able to compete in this league because the game has changed where the power player down low is not as dominant and the game is try to create mismatches by running pick-and-rolls.
The Sixers will be looking to bounce back in the 2025-26 season led by Embiid. The expectation is that he will be fully recovered and ready to go when the season begins in October and the Sixers will be looking to him to lead the way. This version of this team will go as far as he takes them. While Paul George and Tyrese Maxey are there to help, the pressure will fall onto Embiid to get the job done in Philadelphia.
