The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot riding on this summer. Star Joel Embiid is recovering from surgery on his knee, which could determine how effective and how healthy he will be to close out his career.
Nine-time All-Star Paul George has a shoulder injury; with him out of the final month of the season, they are still waiting to see if they will keep their top six protective pick away from the Oklahoma City Thunder. That adds a lot of intrigue to their off-season to-do list, but perhaps the first thing on the top of that list should be whether or not to trade Embiid.
Embiid was drafted back in 2014 and has been both dominant and injury-prone, with a viral tweet nailing the Sixers' problems during the Embiid era.
For the Philadelphia 76ers to move forward, they must finally look to trade Joel Embiid this summer
When looking back on Embiid's time in Philly, it's almost impressive just how much went wrong. He missed two and a half of the first three seasons of his career and has never played 70 or more games in a single year.
The Embiid era is genuinely hilarious bro everything that could’ve went wrong went wrong
— Suge (@NOTSugefrmjerz) April 17, 2025
Add in that they traded up to get Markelle Fultz when they could have had Jayson Tatum and Ben Simmons flaming out in a way that is almost too bizarre to believe, and it's been bad luck after bad luck. With Embiid now in his thirties and seemingly breaking down, they may not have a better chance to trade him this summer.
The thought of the Sixers trading Embiid feels increasingly more realistic. After all, they appear to be falling behind the competition in the Eastern Conference, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks positioned to contend for several years.
Be that as it may, the Sixers likely can't just trade him to the highest bidder. For one, there probably wouldn't be a bidding war for him with teams leery about his health going forward. Even so, the Sixers can't treat him as being untradeable going forward, even despite how beloved he is in Philadelphia. Especially with him likely to max out at 65 games a season going forward due to load management.
All in all, the viral post hits the nail right on the head when it comes to the Sixers during the Embiid era. If they want to move forward, they must seriously consider trading him this summer.