Executives in the NBA have reportedly been exploring the availability and cost of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Trading the star center and the face of The Process is an unlikely move, but teams are doing their due diligence with the questionable fit of him, Ben Simmons and Al Horford.
“One of the conversations people are starting to have in the league is ‘Will they move Embiid? What’s the price? Where would he go?'” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast.
Windhorst made clear that Embiid is not available right now, using phrases including teams “prepar(ing) in advance” and Embiid “potentially coming to market, whether that’s true or not.”
But for a player of Embiid’s talent, if there are even rumblings of discontent on the team, others around the league would be foolish to not ask about it.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Sixers are entertaining offers.
“I don’t think they would do that without making an adjustment to the head coach,” Windhorst said.
Speculation about trade availability stems from the lack of spacing when Embiid, Simmons and Horford are on the court together.
Of Simmons’ 593 shots, 560 have come within nine feet of the basket. Embiid expands his range further, with only 256 shots coming within nine feet, but he’s statistically one of the best post-up men in the league and would ideally be down low more: He has the most possessions and points in the post by a large margin and is top-10 in points per possession in the post.
Horford, meanwhile, has taken more of his shots 25 to 29 feet away from the basket than any other range, but he’s shooting just 34% from there. He’s made more than 56% of his 189 shots within nine feet.
With all that said, if a team has a pair of All-Stars and All-Defensive stalwarts, it’s almost certainly not going to break them up.
“It’s a problem that a lot of GMs would like to have, if it is a problem,” general manager Elton Brand to Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin on Saturday. “They’re two All-Stars, we just need to figure out how these pieces fit.
The Sixers have been to two Eastern Conference Semifinals in a row and was four wild bounces from getting overtime in game seven last year. They added Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III at the trade deadline, both of whom are good 3-point shooters.
They enter Monday 33-21.
Windhorst doesn’t say the Sixers are even considering trading either of their stars.
But he does say the fact there are questions floating around isn’t a good thing for Philadelphia.
“It’s such a radical thing, but the fact that we’re in mid-February and the people who work in the league, who have to prepare in advance, are mulling over Joel Embiid potentially coming to market, whether that’s true or not … the fact people are talking about it, is not good,” Windhorst said. “It’s a symptom of where they are.”
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