Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Future Is Bleak
Much can be said about the 76ers’ future with Joel Embiid. Both sides have seen their ups and downs through this whole “trust the process” saga. He is rarely on the court for Philly, and it limits the success that this team can have. They have the pieces to make it work, and with how weak the East is looking this next season, this could be the last real shot that this 76ers team, led by Joel Embiid, could have at winning a championship.
76ers Future With Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid’s future not only with the 76ers but in the NBA is in serious question. He hasn’t had a healthy season since his MVP year in 2023, and even then, he missed lots of time before that season as well. The worst part about all of this for the 76ers is that they just signed Embiid to an extension worth $192 million over three years last offseason. If he can’t stay on the floor now, what makes Philly think that anything will change as he gets even older?
When healthy, of course, we know what he is capable of. Many regard him to be, at worst, the second-best center in the league behind Nikola Jokic when healthy. He can turn the Sixers into a whole different team when he’s available, but we haven’t been able to see much of that.
With him on one of the largest contracts in the NBA, the 76ers’ future has changes that need to be addressed. With how the CBA works, you just can’t afford to have a guy on your roster that makes north of $60 million per year and is sometimes playing less than half of the games.
What Other Questions Does the Future Hold?
There is another major concern that the 76ers face, and that is with Paul George, whom they signed last season to a massive contract. This is a similar situation to the Embiid one. Philadelphia is paying Paul George a ton of money to not play in games. Not to mention, when he would suit up and get on the court, he didn’t look like the player that we all know. He was very limited in his movements, didn’t shoot nearly as efficiently as we’ve come accustomed to seeing from him, and the aggressiveness was not there.
This could have been the result of the injuries that he was dealing with, but it will be very hard to build a winning culture in Philly if Embiid and George continue to look anything remotely close to this. This doesn’t mean that Philly doesn’t have a direction to go in because they still have young talent like Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and rookie VJ Edgecombe. The team still has hope behind these guys, but their front office has major decisions to make involving Embiid and George.
