Philadelphia 76ers: 5 Things We Learned During NBA Draft

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Jan 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices before a game against the Golden State Warriors at Wells Fargo Center. The Golden State Warriors won 108-105. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The team might be catering to Embiid

If there was any player on the team that the Sixers would be catering to, you would think it would be Ben Simmons. And moving forward, it very well could be, but the actual player that’s getting the most catered to is Joel Embiid.

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Embiid sat out of his entire first two seasons due to injury, but has finally been cleared for light 5-on-5 activity, and is expected to finally play this season.

All throughout this season, his second straight in strictly injury rehabilitation, the Sixers did a lot to help his injury. They invested a ton of time, resources and effort into him, and it’s unknown at this point if it paid off or not.

The Sixers put a lot of emphasis on making sure he feels at home. Embiid didn’t get into basketball until he was a teen. Far away from his home in Cameroon, Philly certainly does not feel the same for Embiid. But the Sixers try to make it feel that way. When looking for somewhere to send Embiid to help rehab his foot, they sent him to Qatar, to a clinic called Aspetar. Much of the staff there speaks French, Embiid’s first language.

Aspetar is also a world-class athletic training facility, but I think the French-Speaking staff had to be taken into account when the Sixers were considering sending Embiid on double-digit hour flights to rehab his foot.

Fast forward to draft night, with the anticipation of next season — which should be Embiid’s debut season — in the front of everyone’s minds, and the Sixers on the clock at 24. They could select a number of high-class traditional American University players still left on the board including Skal Labissiere (Skal is from Haiti, but played at Kentucky).

Instead, the Sixers selected French player Timothe Luwawu. Luwawu was one of the best players available, so it made sense, but one has to wonder if the French language had at least something to do with it.

Additionally, the Sixers could go after Evan Fournier this summer. Fournier, a French native himself, fits the mold that I’m speaking of here, and really is a solid player. He was previously very excited about the Orlando Magic future, but now, there is reason to believe that Fournier may want to leave.

The Magic traded away some of their biggest pieces — Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova — for Serge Ibake on draft night. Forget whether or not this was a good deal or not, let’s realize that this is not the team that Fournier was exited to get back with a few months ago.

Next: Thank You Letter: Sam Hinkie

I think it would be irrational to conclude that the Sixers are going to start selecting players based on the language they speak, but I also think it would be foolish to assume that the only thing the Sixers think about when looking at potential players is what happens on the court. Player chemistry is important, and offering French-speaking coaches and team members can be comforting for Joel Embiid.