The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves at a turning point. Try as they might, they have failed to make up ground in the Eastern Conference standings, and, worse yet, their best player continues to struggle with injuries. So much so that Joel Embiid is reportedly reconsidering his options regarding his knee.
The 76ers and Joel Embiid are consulting doctors and considering alternative options on his injured knee, sources tell ESPN. Sides have hoped for progress in Embiid’s body, but his efforts to play and current treatments, including injections, have not provided any improvement. pic.twitter.com/GXeqxC7Nwj
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 23, 2025
He's had issues with his surgically repaired knee all season and missed time due to swelling. With his knee failing to get better, he will likely need off-season surgery to fix the issue. The surgical options are grim, with microfracture surgery being among the options, with another being to medically break a bone in his hip to realign it to take the weight off his knee. Yikes.
Whatever surgical option he chooses means another extended rehab, and there isn't a guarantee that he will be the same player. Nevertheless, Embiid's injury gives the Sixers the perfect opportunity.
The Philadelphia 76ers can't afford to let a golden opportunity pass them by
With Embiid unable to stay healthy, the Sixers should decide to shut him down and punt on this season and try to build toward the future. That would mean he would opt to have surgery now rather than wait until the off-season. Not only would this enable him to spend more time on his rehab, but it would also allow the Sixers to tank.
That would help them keep their first-round pick out of the Oklahoma City Thunder's hands, with their pick being top-six protected. Currently, the Sixers have the sixth-worst record in the NBA, and they could potentially drop to the fourth-worst record if Embiid is sidelined for the remainder of the season.
While they're at it, the Sixers can also shut down Paul George, who is currently injured and playing poorly. In that case, they would have decent lottery odds and a chance at landing the number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
With a little bit of luck, the Sixers could set themselves up nicely for the future
That would be massive for the Sixers, giving them a chance to pair Cooper Flagg with Tyrese Maxey in the long term and hopefully a healthy Embiid and George in the short term. Even if they don't land Flagg, several prospects project to be stars, including Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
Getting their hands on one of those prospects would be well worth pulling the plug early on a season that is quickly heading nowhere. Doing so would help to ensure that they don't mess around and pick up unneeded wins at this point in the season.
All in all, with an eight-game losing streak and injury concerns with Embiid and George, the Sixers would be wise to sit them for the remainder of the season and see whether they can get a high lottery pick.