Philadelphia 76ers: What's Next For Joel Embiid, Sixers?

There’s no question that the 2015 offseason has been yet another intriguing period for the continually rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers. There’s even a case to be made for the current offseason as the most debatable and unpredictable under general manager Sam Hinkie’s reign, considering the rollercoaster of peaks and valleys the Sixers have boarded over the past two months.

The chaos and hysteria began weeks before the 2015 NBA Draft with the news that Joel Embiid — who sat out his entire rookie season recovering from a fractured navicular bone in his right foot — had suffered yet another setback and would need further evaluation.

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As expected, this came as unwelcomed and severely concerning news for the Sixers and their fans, after what was supposed to be a four-to-six month recovery, was now days short of a year with no return timetable in sight.

But the upcoming draft was set to provide some unparalleled optimism for the future, as Philly was expected to walk away with their star point guard of the future in D’Angelo Russell, who would compliment Nerlens Noel and Embiid magnificently once Embiid’s “minor setback” was behind him and the 2015-16 season finally arrives.

But as we know by now, this is the 76ers we’re talking about and things don’t go as planned very often. This again became true on draft night when the Los Angeles Lakers – who held the No. 2 pick – exhausted their lottery selection on the coveted guard from Ohio State and left the Sixers without their key target for the second-straight draft (Andrew Wiggins in 2014).

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Jahlil Okafor (Duke) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number three overall pick to the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia followed that by using their No. 3 pick on Duke’s star freshman Jahlil Okafor, making 2015 the third straight draft in which the Sixers used their lottery pick on a center.

Along with the acquisition of Okafor came a blend of disappointment and delight, after Philly once again missed out on a high-caliber talent at a position of need, but yet again left the lottery with arguably the best player in the entire draft for the third straight year.

That delight with Hinkie snagging Okafor would soon become exceptional anticipation of how the Sixers’ latest low-post power would fare in Summer League action; all while questions regarding Embiid’s immediate and long-term future in Philly lingered.

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These questions would be partially answered shortly thereafter with the news that Embiid’s latest setback – which was ultimately announced as another break to his healing navicular bone – would likely keep the Sixers big man sidelined for the entire 2015-16 season.

This news also, at least for the time being, silenced the question of which Philly big man, if any, would find themselves on the trading block.

But even with that said, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that as some point, one of Philly’s big bodies will be shipped out. Embiid, Noel and Okafor all simply have too much talent and potential to adopt an extensive bench role.

With Noel having a full season of health under his belt, while Okafor boasts a spotless injury record coming into the NBA, Embiid finds himself on the outside looking in at the moment.

So where does this leave the Sixers concerning Embiid’s future in Philadelphia?

There are a handful of options with numerous contributing factors, but obviously, there’s little that can be done right now with Embiid’s health up in the air.

Hinkie and company could just wipe their hands clean with Embiid and his lingering injuries through a trade and snag whatever they can get in return for him. Considering Embiid’s staggering potential — if he can ever get healthy — there would surely be a few teams willing to exchange draft picks or other assets with the Sixers.

Sure, this would be an immediate answer to placing a frustrating start to Philadelphia’s multi-year rebuild behind them, but shipping Embiid off this early would be a high-risk, low-reward for the Sixers, especially if Embiid gets healthy and lives up to his hype elsewhere.

There were and still are the questions of how Embiid, Noel and Okafor could all fit together and yet again, Embiid looks like he could be the odd man out in this discussion.

Mar 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (left) and center Joel Embiid (right) share a laugh during warm ups before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

If Embiid were set to make his debut at the start of the 2015-16 season, there’s a strong possibility that he’d be the starter down low, alongside Noel, who would be the power forward.

Having that year of relationship building with the team and coaching staff and time to sit and learn the ways of basketball in the NBA during his recovery would likely have given Embiid the nod over Okafor at center, in addition to his tremendous two-way talent.

But Embiid and Okafor are both natural back-to-basket low post players, although Embiid has a noteable mid-range touch. This would make it considerably difficult for the two to play alongside each other consistently due to spacing, defensive liabilities on quicker power forwards, along with Philadelphia’s up-tempo style being one that isn’t catered to a two big-man offensive scheme.

Exchange Noel for Embiid in that lineup and you no longer have the defensive liability with Noel at power forward, whom finished top-10 in the NBA in blocks and steals as a rookie, and is a much quicker and more active defender than both Embiid and Okafor. On the offensive end, Noel’s lanky frame runs the floor exceptionally in transition and presents a mammoth target on lobs.

With Noel and Okafor now set to play down low together next season, Noel’s offensive game should continue to expand at power forward – most notably his mid-range shooting touch – while Okafor’s low-post arsenal will quite likely improve even further; all as Embiid still sits in civilian clothes on the bench.

Okafor will soon prove, if he hasn’t already, that he’s far too valuable for the Sixers to part with, and as long as Noel improves offensively and shows that he can translate to power forward smoothly, both of these two should become indispensable pieces for Philadelphia from next season on.

Once again, Embiid could find himself on the outside looking in.

Another factor that could come into play is Embiid’s contract following 2015-16, since the 21-year-old center is nearing the second year of a two-year, $9,054,600 contract with Philly. The next two seasons after that are team options.

This, again would provide the opportunity for the Sixers to put the unfortunate Embiid project behind them and solidify Noel and Okafor as their key pieces moving forward – if solidity is even possible for Hinkie – but this would make even less sense than just trading Embiid as is now since they’ll get nothing in return whatsoever.

And then there’s the most likely option: Philly sits and waits patiently for Embiid to recover – however long that may be – and takes action once he’s finally at full health.

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As noted earlier, with Okafor now the focal point down low and Noel being a better fit alongside Okafor if he can improve his offensive game out to about 8-12 feet next season on a moderately consistent basis, there it will be considerably difficult for Philly to find a good reason to deal either Okafor or Noel.

This would leave Embiid, but despite the injuries, Embiid has far too much natural talent for Philly to trade him or let him walk with little to nothing in return. But for Philly to receive anything worth mentioning for Embiid, he’ll have to actually start playing real basketball games and most likely, prove he can do so for an extended period of time.

If Embiid can finally debut and impress, there will surely be teams chomping at the bit to get their hands on such a prized big man. If this were the case, the time frame could be anywhere from half of the season to the following offseason.

But of course, there could always be the possibility that Embiid returns and proves he’s far to valuable to be traded, but considering Embiid’s increasing injury history, along with other factors pointed out, I doubt Philly would pass up on a worthwhile offer.

With all of this said, it’s quite possible, if not quite likely, that Embiid never becomes the star in The City of Brotherly Love so many hoped he would be when the Sixers drafted him. But it may have worked out for the best with Philly now possessing the most offensively polished center to enter the league in the last decade.

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Philadelphia 76ers: What’s Next For Joel Embiid And The Sixers?

By Cody Daniel | Jul 25, 2015

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