Joel Embiid has been the heart and soul of the Philadelphia 76ers since the franchise drafted by the franchise back in 2014. He has emerged as one of the best players in the NBA over the years, having earned the league MVP award in 2023.
Despite his brilliance on the court, Embiid's career has been plagued by injuries. The seven-time All-Star appeared in just 19 games last season 2024-25 season due to knee-nagging injuries, the same one that forced him to miss the majority of the 2023-24 season.
Considering his long list of injuries, former 76ers general manager Billy King pushed back on the idea of trading their franchise cornerstone, saying that when he is healthy, he is one of the best players in the league.
"The hardest thing is knowing that when Joel is healthy, he's one of the best players in the league," King saidvia 94 WIP."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."
King added," 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."
76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey stated that he intends to add more youth around Embiid and George without breaking up their core.
The 76ers will look to bounce back from what was a disappointing 2024-25 season. They finished the season with a 25-57 record and have dealt with injuries to key stars, notably Embiid and Paul George.
With the No.3 overall pick and a healthy Joel Embiid, the 76ers will look to reestablish themselves as contenders in the Eastern Conference.