As Joel Embiid prepares for surgery, Sixers coach Nick Nurse said the reigning Most Valuable Player is experiencing a range of emotions, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“I think he’s probably a little up and down to be honest with you,” Nurse said on Monday. “But I get some pretty positive vibes, which is why I say he’s up. Some encouraging things. And then there’s time when he’s probably about what you would be like.”
Embiid will soon undergo lateral meniscus surgery for a tear in his left knee. He’s expected to miss an extended amount of time but a firm timetable can’t be established until the surgical procedure is complete.
“There’s some tough moments to go though, thinking about what could be and what’s going to happen next, the road to recovery and all that kind of stuff,” Nurse said. “You know you got to take a positive spin on it. Anybody in life in an illness or sickness has got to say ‘I’m going to bounce back and I’m going be ready, right?’ I get some of that from him, too.”
We have more on the Sixers:
- Embiid will miss at least a month, no matter how well the surgery goes and how limited the damage is to his knee, Shams Charania reported on the Run It Back FanDuel show (video link). “I’m told that the hope is that Embiid misses one to two months. I’m told that’s the best case, minimum scenario,” Charania said.
- While Embiid is on the mend, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris will have to take on more responsibilities, Paul Reed and Mohamed Bamba will need to hold the fort in the middle, and wings such as Nicolas Batum will have to pitch in, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- A reunion with Andre Drummond? Pompey believes the Sixers should target the Bulls’ backup center in trade talks. Drummond backed up Embiid during the 2021/22 season.
- Along the same theme, Pompey discusses other potential trade targets, as well as detailing the expiring contracts and draft capital Philadelphia could use to make moves before Thursday’s trade deadline.
They should target Vucevic, send Morris’s expiring plus 3 FRPs to have a top quality center holding the fort down and he could compliment Embiid when he comes back from surgery and take the burden off Joel for the playoff run.
Put the weed down. 3 FRPs for Vucevic???
Never in my life have I smoked a joint and thought, Vuc should fetch 3 first round picks lol
Even at his peak Vuc was not remotely worth three picks.
The Bulls would gladly take that but the 76ers would never do that!
I agree that Vooch should be traded.
Vucevic doesn’t fit, and far too costly financially and compensation wise. Drummond was excellent when filling in for Joel previously bc of his similar size, rim protection and rebounding skills. Reed, a player who I think is a future all star level player, is a natural PF at 6’9, but his incredible athleticism and ultra high motor allow him to defend most C’s very well, while still performing well offensively, without many plays run for him. He is one of the best rebounderts , especially on the offensive end, in the NBA. However even though Reed can block shots well, he doesnt provide the rim protection that disuades G”s and F”s to attack the rim, and when Reed 6’9, Harris 6’8, Batum 6’7, have to play a team with Several bigs, Mil, Lopez, 7’1, Giannis,6’11 Portis 6*9 or CLE J Allen 7’0,, E. Mobley 6’10, & Niang ?6’8, they get hurt badly on the glass. Drummond best supports the current roster from allowing these things to happen
Going to be some dark days in the upcoming weeks. And all this during the current run of 1-6? At 30-19 they might struggle to a .500 record at the end of the season?
Looks like what Sir Charles said about a sixers team w/o Embiid might be true.
Season over without Embiid healthy
I will take a healthy Jojo come playoff time and like my chances.
Embiid will likely miss approximately 13-17 games, leaving him approximately 18-20 regular season games to get re-adjusted fo game mode(plenty of time), to be able to play a full healthy playoff run. Even if the 76ers play sub .500 ball while Joel is out, it’s unlikely that they fall lower than. 6th-7th in East, ground which they can make up upon his return, so let’s say they get in as the 6th seed? They would play @ CLE, NY or MIL in Rd 1, all very winnable series. Especially if they add before the deadline. After that, they would play @ one of the other 2 teams mentioned, or H vs IND or MIA, again, very winnable.. Finally, to win the East , they will either have to go through Boston,or, one of NY, CLE, Mil, MIA or IND. The 76ers have struggled vs BOS in recent years, but have a much better coach now, and although BOS has beaten them 2-1 this year so far, the 1 game both teams were at full strength, the 76ers won. They also showed they can win in BOS last year, winning 2 games in BOS during playoffs. So- seasons not over. Just have to bide time.
Furkan, House, Springer, 4 SRPs for Miles Bridges and Nick Richards. Solves Scoring and Center.
Bamba, KMJ, 2 SRP for Drummond. Solves back-up Center.
Reed, RoCo, FRP, FRP Swap for Murray. Solves Scoring and Ball Handler.
Maxey, Murray, Tobais, Bridges, Richards
Bev, Melton, Oubre, Batum, Drummond
Morris + some 10 Days to see who sticks, someone from the BO market, and maybe promoting a G-Leaguer like Bazely or McCaw.
Ew. No Bridges.
Bamba should be starting over Paul Reed. No, he won’t make up for Embiid, but Bamba is better at literally everything except free throws.
Bamba has been horrid this season. 0% chance he’s better than Reed.
Bamba has played half the minutes of Reed, but has been better in every way. Defense especially. Reed can’t defend at the 5 well enough. Gets flattened at the rim repeatedly.
And is a foul machine.
The Sixers should use some of that cap space they’ll have next summer and do a little pre-agency. Harris and their 3 tradable firsts for Murray and Capela.
Trade everything possible for future assets (like suns 2nd) and tank
The semi expiring contract of Bojan Bogdanovic makes a lot of sense to me. Only 2 million guaranteed next season. They can first use cap space and then increase the guaranteed amount as needed for salary matching next season. Detroit seems to want a first rounder, but if the price drops and Philadelphia can get him for Morris + KJ Martin + their 2024 2nd rounder plus two 2028 2nd rounders + cash they should jump on it. They can always get Morris back ok a lower contract in the offseason.
Sending out Covington + Batum + Kurkmaz and also getting Muscala in return might make them include their 2024 1st rounder as well, as they then duck under the luxury tax, even after a potential addition of Lowry, if they move KJ Martin and finish the season with 14 players.
Pistons are interested in Tobias Harris, but dont know if I would trade him. That would be giving up on this season.
Expiring DeMar DeRozan and Drummond also sound like interesting additions.
I would like to say there is no chance Detroit does that but Weaver has shown to be completely incompetent so anything is possible lol
Would be exchanging expiring contracts for other expiring contracts and get some picks and cash by it.
If there are no other substantial offers and they can sign elsewhere as free agent in the offseason, why shouldnt Detroit do it?
In the hopes of a sign and trade in the offseason?