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The Philadelphia 76ers seem ready to move on from former MVP center Joel Embiid, but will any NBA team make a move this offseason to acquire the injury-prone superstar? Fans are probably thinking that the short answer is “No!” and the long answer is “NOOOOOO!!!”
However, jokes aside, there’s at least one team each summer that’s desperate enough to gamble on a player like Embiid, who the 76ers shut down for the remainder of the 2024-25 season as he and the team continue to look for a long-term solution for a lingering left knee injury.
76ers Ruled Joel Embiid Out For The Season
Embiid, who turns 31 on March 16, received several knee injections throughout the season, in efforts to reduce the swelling and discomfort enough to allow him to play and be available for the Sixers. Instead of improving as he played more, the pain and swelling only increased.
Despite never playing back-to-backs, Embiid was still never healthy for any sustained period of time this campaign. That ultimately led to the Sixers ruling him out for the season. He played in only 19 games, meaning he missed 39 of Philadelphia’s 58 games at the time of that report.
More importantly, Embiid played in just 39 games last season after tearing the meniscus in his knee. His left knee has been a problem since January of 2024, when he sustained a lateral meniscus injury. So his knee issues are nothing new.
The former first-rounder underwent surgery in early February, came back in early April, was part of Philadelphia’s playoff run, and then won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team over the summer.
Joel Embiid Cannot Be Traded Until March 20, 2025
In September, Joel Embiid signed a three-year, $192.9 million contract extension that guarantees the five-time All-NBA member a total of $299.5 million through the 2028-29 season.
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Embiid also declined his $59 million player option for the 2026-27 season prior to inking the new contract extension. He will earn $69 million in the final year of the new deal.
Per Spotrac, Embiid’s current deal is the four-year, $213.28 million max contract extension that he signed with the Sixers in August of 2021. He cannot be traded until March 20, 2025.
Knicks Nearly Traded For Embiid
After last month’s trade deadline, NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed that there was once a scenario where the Sixers could’ve secured a massive haul from the New York Knicks if they made Embiid available for a trade.
“Once upon a time, Philly presumably could have extracted every draft pick that New York possessed before it splurged on trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns,” Fischer wrote. “The Knicks were always the rival threat, sources said, that Sixers officials knew was waiting to pounce if Embiid ever reached the trade market.”
But that was before the 76ers revealed the news that Embiid’s left knee hasn’t responded well to the treatment protocols he’s received this season.
A number of potential trade suitors would have attempted to rescind an Embiid trade upon hearing that report anyways, especially if he were to fail the physical.
Nets Could Trade For Embiid?
Furthermore, Fadeaway World writer Eddie Bitar suggests a trade that would bring Embiid to the Brooklyn Nets for Nic Claxton, Cameron Johnson, a 2025 first-round pick (OKC or HOU or PHX), a 2027 first-round pick (NYK), and a 2030 second-round pick (LAL).
“The Brooklyn Nets have been searching for their next superstar since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving left, and trading for Joel Embiid could be the move that puts them back in the spotlight. Despite their struggles, Brooklyn has an intriguing mix of assets and young talent, and pairing Embiid with Cam Thomas (24.7 PPG) would create one of the best inside-out duos in the league,” Bitar writes.
“For Brooklyn, this is a risky yet high-upside move. They’d need to be confident that Embiid can stay on the floor and that they can build a title-worthy supporting cast around him. If it works, the Nets could return to the top of the East. If it doesn’t, they could find themselves stuck in another difficult rebuild.”
76ers Made The Same Mistake With Paul George
Simply put, it would have been a bad trade for the Knicks, and Bitar’s mock trade seems too unbelievable. Everyone knows what happened to Paul George after he signed his four-year, $212 million contract with Philadelphia: He suffered pinky finger, groin, and knee injuries and wanted to be Podcast P instead of an NBA star.
Thursday’s absence against the Boston Celtics was George’s second in three games. He’s appeared in just 41 of 62 games for the Sixers this year. There are rumors that Philadelphia will shut down the veteran forward for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
“We want them to play if they’re able to play, right?” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters in Boston. “For me, the medical people tell me if they’re good. … I think, at the end of the third the other night, he just wasn’t able to continue. So that kind of stuff happens too, and I just take around my directions from them.”
The Sixers royally messed up when they gave Joel Embiid another ridiculous deal. That’s on the organization. Embiid seems untradeable right now going into the offseason because the NBA team is just as poorly managed as the Dallas Mavericks.