The Philadelphia 76ers rarely had Joel Embiid available this season. The Sixers’ veteran big man has been dealing with a long-standing knee issue. He received surgery in 2024, but his knee failed to respond.
As such, Embiid was shut down for the remainder of the current season. He’s scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee. The hope is that he can return to the rotation next season.
However, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Embiid and the Sixers front office have butted heads on how best to approach his injury throughout the season.
“There was some tension there between Joel Embiid and that front office, from my understanding,” Charania said on an April 3 episode of NBA Today. “The team believed he needed to play at some points of the season, that he needed to get his conditioning right through playing and getting better that way. He felt like he needed surgery. He ends up getting the surgery.”
Embiid has dealt with injury issues throughout his career. At 31 years old, those injury problems are likely to continue. Of course, the hope is that they become more manageable, especially if his upcoming surgery is a success. Nevertheless, the Sixers need Embiid at his best in order to contend for a championship. Therefore, it makes sense that there was some pushback on how best to deal with his recovery.
Sixers’ Embiid Set for Surgery
In an April 2 post on X, Charania reported that Embiid is scheduled to undergo surgery at some point in the week commencing April 7.
“Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee next week, a team official tells ESPN,” Charania reported. “Embiid was ruled out for season in late February as he and the 76ers met with doctors to determine the best treatment to alleviate his knee issues.”
There is currently no reported timeline on what the recovery process will be for Embiid. As such, there is potentially a small chance that he misses some, or even all, of the 2025-26 season. Of course, that will depend on how his knee and body respond to the surgery.
Sixers Must Improve Front Court
In a March 2 article for ESPN, Kevin Pelton pinpoints the Sixers’ frontcourt as the area that needs the biggest improvement.
“Although depth wasn’t the primary reason for Philadelphia’s failure, it disappointed nonetheless,” Pelton wrote. “Backup centers Andre Drummond and Adem Bona haven’t provided the cover the 76ers expected behind Embiid, and Caleb Martin wasn’t the strong role player Philadelphia expected. As a result, the Sixers have given more than 3,500 minutes to players my metric rates below replacement level this season, the league’s eighth-highest total.”
Daryl Morey has a busy summer ahead of him. He must decide if he wants to re-tool the roster around his current star trio. If not, he may need to find a new home for Paul George.
Regardless of what Morey decides, it’s clear he must improve the supporting cast. Nick Nurse needs more reliable depth. This season has taught us how important quality backup players are. Of course, if Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey are all healthy next season, things will look a lot different.
Unfortunately for Sixers fans, hoping the entire star trio can stay on the court throughout the season appears to be wishful thinking.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Tension Between Joel Embiid, Sixers Revealed appeared first on Heavy Sports.