Hi all. Back for another Sixers mailbag. On the dock this week, we have questions on Joel Embiid, Furkan Aldemir, some Draft stuff — of course — and others. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and remember to follow The Sixer Sense on Twitter @SixerSense or me personally at @Dcorrigan50 to submit questions.
@SixerSense - do you think the Sixers will give us a sample (10-20 games) of Embiid before the season ends?
— Arie @ OfficialReview (@officialreview) February 1, 2015
Not in the least bit. Much like with Noel last season, I’m not sure the Sixers get anything out of a sample of Embiid. To be honest, the organization doesn’t really care about showing the fans Embiid. There’s no point. If he comes out and gives 10-20 BAD games, then we talk all off season about that and speculate until our eyes bleed. The season is already halfway over and we haven’t heard much about his progress on the actual basketball court, so I wouldn’t expect to see him this season. 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas will be an epic time, however.
That would be a nice lineup. If you put Embiid + Covington + , that’s probably something that would look great on a court. A lot of people are forgetting about Emmanuel Mudiay because he’s in China and D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State is throwing fireballs at the rim this year. Still a great prospect and I’d be happy with him or Russell, because I’m not sold on MCW. I’d rather not predict statistics, but all you can hope for is that Covington shoots near 40 percent from deep, Embiid scores somewhere near 15-18 points per game and Mudiay flashes some sort of jumper. Sidebar: Nerlens Noel would look a lot better on the court with Embiid. All these awkward shots he’s taking wouldn’t be necessary with Embiid on the court.
@SixerSense what should they do with furkan? Is a legit rebounder, but doesn't seem to fit athletically
— Zach (@zachsteverome) February 1, 2015
It’s weird how he’s fell out of the rotation the past few games. He’s been a DNP-CD in the past two games and is only averaging 11.8 minutes per game in the past 10 games. He doesn’t fit the Sixers plans athletically, but they signed him to a four-year deal paying him around $4 million per season. It’s interesting, because he CAN rebound. He’s averaging close to five boards in 11 minutes per game and 13.4 rebounds per-36 minutes.
If the Sixers want someone to rebound, he seems like a good case. However, the emergence of Jerami Grant may be cutting into his minutes and forcing Brett Brown to go to smaller lineups with Grant at the 4 and Noel at the 5. With the deal he has, the Sixers are definitely keeping him. Just not sure what the lack of minutes is about.
@Dcorrigan50 I know I asked this before but has anything changed on J-Rich? Is he healthy enough to play? Buyout candidate?
— Ry (@RyMichail) February 1, 2015
He wants to come back and play before the All-Star break, which is coming up very soon. If not, expect to see him the first game after the break on February 20. He hasn’t played in two years, so it’ll be interesting to see what he has left.
I wouldn’t consider him a buyout candidate. The Sixers wouldn’t keep him on the roster for two years injured and agree to a buyout when he’s healthy, that makes zero sense. He seems to have bought in to the Sixers team and has had a great time mentoring all the youth. Having him on the court could pay dividends for this team in the long run.