It was reported by Howard Eskin of 94WIP that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will not play in 5 on 5 play until he gets an extension.
Embiid’s agent, Leon Rose, wants to protect his future but the Philadelphia 76ers will want to protect theirs.
Embiid has been on the team for three seasons and has only played 31 games. While this was good enough to show glimpses that he would be a player to invest in, you cannot ignore that fact. His injured past will haunt him in his case.
A $100 million-dollar contract is something that cannot be given to a player that has only played 31 games in 3 years. Embiid will have to be able to play the whole season this year to prove that fact. When he played in those games an injury again ended his season.
Embiid suffered a torn meniscus in his knee and the Sixers shut him down for the rest of the season.
Embiid has played less than Greg Oden did in his first three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. How will the Sixers be able to have confidence that he will play? Embiid averaged 20.2 points in those games he played and shot 46 percent from the field. He was able to be nominated for rookie of the year after having his season ended early which was a big conversation in the media.
When Embiid was drafted by the Sixers in the first round 3rd overall in 2014 everybody knew that the team was getting a good talent. Embiid was projected to be the first overall pick but his foot injury that kept him sidelined for the first two years of his tenure with the Sixers got in the way of him accomplishing that feat.
Embiid embraced the Sixers anyway and took the nickname “The Process.” The old Sixers GM Sam Hinkie told fans to trust in what scheme he had for the Sixers and eventually it would work out. The Trust the Process era got the Sixers their own version of a big three which is now Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Embiid is the first treat that the fans were able to enjoy from that era and he showed the fans in the games that he played in that the future was bright. That is if he can stay on the court. Ben Simmons was also bit by the injury bug when he also injured his foot during training camp at the Sixers Camden facility last year.
Both players are looking to play the whole year this year and they think with the added pick, Markelle Fultz, that they will be able to be in the playoffs this year.
If Embiid is able to lead the Sixers to the playoffs and even win a series then the $100 million extension will be justified.
Embiid is an outstanding talent and it was also reported by the Bucks County Courier Times that an anonymous NBA source said that holding Embiid out of the 5 on 5 play was “absolutely not” the case which denied Eskin’s reports. The deadline to extend rookie contracts is October 16th.
The Sixers will most likely extend Embiid because he wants to be in Philadelphia and Philadelphia wants him but $100 million dollars? Maybe not. Not after a player has only played in 13 percent of his possible games.