What the hell happened to this team in the last couple of months? The Philadelphia 76ers are utterly imploding as all of their star players, including James Harden and Joel Embiid, have either demanded a trade or made it known they aren’t in Philly for the long haul.
I guess this is what happens when you can’t get out of the Second Round.
After an extremely disappointing playoff run and yet another 2nd round exit, the Philadelphia 76ers have had a disastrous offseason as all of their big stars have either demanded out, expressed a concerning level of disloyalty to the franchise, or have been involved in unsuccessful trade negotiations. And, to be honest, this is what the franchise gets for being so awful at team building.
I really don’t see how Daryl Morey stays in a job past next offseason as all of his moves thus far have exploded in his face with Joel Embiid, the reigning MVP and the face of the 76ers, coming out and saying in a recent interview, “I just want to win a championship. Whatever it takes. I don’t know where that’s gonna be, whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else, I just want to have a chance to accomplish that. I want to see what it feels like to win that first one, and then you can think about the next one.”
This is an UNMITAGED DISASTER for the 76ers!
Not only have they spent the entire offseason trying to ship out Tyrese Maxey in a foolhardy attempt to acquire Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers and finding a trade partner for a disgruntled (stop me if this is the first time you’ve heard this) James Harden, but they also now have to look at a very real possibility of facing a Joel Embiid trade demand.
Thankfully for the 76ers, Embiid signed a 4-year, $213M extension just two offseason ago, so him walking out of Philly as a free agent is not a possibility. But, with James Harden being Embiid’s teammate these last few years, he may be inclined to take a page from the 2018 MVP’s playbook and also demand a trade early into his massive contract extension.
And I can understand why he would do so and why he said the things he did in his interview as the 76ers have been the biggest playoff chokers the league’s seen these last few seasons, while also making some horrible roster choices.
Starting off with the playoff drought, the 76ers haven’t even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since Allen Iverson took his 2001 76ers squad all the way to the NBA Finals…where they got trounced 4-1 to Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers. Nevertheless, in their last 13 playoff appearances (spanning over 22 years), the 76ers have been bounced out of the 2nd round 7 times and the 1st round 6 times…while they have lost heartbreaking, 6-7 game series in their last four 2nd round appearances.
That’s just the choking bug getting taken to a whole new level.
And, in regard to the roster moves, the 76ers have made some HORRIFIC choices by drafting Ben Simmons over Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, and Jamal Murray, trading for James Harden, trading away Jimmy Butler, giving Tobias Harris a roster-restrictive 5-year, $180M deal…instead of resigning Jimmy Butler, drafting Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell, or Bam Adebayo, and trading away Mikal Bridges.
If the 76ers front office just did half of these moves correctly, they would be sitting 2-3 NBA championships right about now.
Sure, Joel Embiid probably would have choked in the playoffs as he’s done every year he’s been in the league (which is a big reason as to why the 76ers have not reached the ECF), but I highly doubt a roster with Joel Embiid, De’Aaron Fox/Jayson Tatum/Donovan Michell, Jimmy Butler, and Jamal Murray/Jaylen Brown/Brandon Ingram would not have won a championship by now.
So, I get why Joel Embiid is frustrated with “The Process” and the 76ers, even though he’s a massive reason why The Process has failed, and I can also see why losing Joel Embiid would be one of the most disastrous calamities in 76ers franchise history.
Sam Hinkie, Elton Brand, and now Daryl Morey all betted on The Process and Joel Embiid to eventually work itself out and result in the 76ers reaching the summits of the basketball world once again, but this quote shows that hope appears to be nothing more than pipe dream now.
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