Many of the stories during that first season regarded his work ethic being questioned by some inside the organization. And a blowup with former assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis is one of the reasons he was sent home during the team’s West Coast road trip in January 2015. At the time, team sources said Embiid was close to 300 pounds after weighing in at 250 at Kansas the season before. “Oh, Joel is whatever, 300 pounds, and the media always talking down on you,” Embiid recalled. “It was tough. I had to go through a lot. It was very tough, but I’m glad I just kept pushing through with the help of everybody around me. I’m happy to be here.”