Embiid: Sixers fine just the way they are

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said he is not upset the team came up empty in signing a star; he is concentrating on trying to be the NBA MVP

While many Philadelphia 76ers fans might be upset they did not land a star player in coach/interim GM Brett Brown’s  ‘star hunting’ expedition , center Joel Embiid is over it.

He spoke in a conference call with reporters to promote the NBA Africa Game. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Lee, Embiid said he is OK with what happened and is looking ahead and trying to raise his game.

"I don’t think it matters, big free agent or not. My goal going into the offseason was to get better. I want to win the MVP,” Embiid said. “I feel like at the end of the day it might be an individual award, but when I play better, the team also does. I feel like if I’m an MVP candidate or if I win the MVP, that means we are on another level.”"

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While Brown and the Sixers had high hopes going into the offseason, the reality was they had little chance of landing any of the three available big stars: LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

James said afterward he was intrigued at the thought of playing with Embiid and Ben Simmons, and the Sixers were the only team outside of the Lakers and Houston Rockets he would have considered playing for.

George signed immediately at the start of free agency with Oklahoma City, entertaining no other offers, and the Spurs’ reported asking price of Embiid or Simmons to be included in any deal killed any chance at Leonard.

Embiid said he was not as involved in recruiting James to the 76ers as one would think. In what I am sure is a relief to management (and whoever the next general manager will be), Embiid is not really interested in being involved in behind-the-scenes activity.

"“I thought we had a chance,” Embiid said. “I’m a player. I always felt like it’s not my job to be in the middle of all that. I don’t like to be involved in front-office stuff. I always felt like (LeBron) didn’t need my help if he was going to do it. It is whatever. We have a great group of guys. A lot of guys coming back. Last year, we won 52 games. This next year is going to be even much better with the addition of Wilson Chandler. I expect Markelle to be back to himself.”"

What Embiid is excited about is that, for the first time since he graduated high school, he has a summer where he can really work on refining his game, and not have to be mainly rehabbing an injury. Embiid has been in Los Angeles for part of the offseason, working with skills guru Drew Hanlen on many aspects of his game.

"“I feel like I have everything. I just need to be more consistent,” Embiid said. “This is the first summer where I’m actually healthy and able to play basketball. I was pretty excited. I’ve already gotten so much better. It’s just about working on everything, perfecting everything. Like when it comes to my 3-point shot or the ball-handling, which was a problem. I feel like I can do it. You can also say I’m kind of new to the game. I’m still learning a lot. I feel like I still have a lot of potential, a lot of stuff to show.”"

The fact Embiid is OK with the Sixers not adding another star player is good news for the team’s chemistry entering the 2018-19 season. There have plenty of instances of big-name players (see James, LeBron and Bryant, Kobe) who get vocally upset when feeling they have not been surrounded with enough talent, in their mind.

That he is pleased with the addition of forward Wilson Chandler will make things easier for the Ex-Nugget when he joins the club. That he expects Fultz to be the player who was selected No. 1 in last year’s draft is also a good sign. Fultz has been working on his shooting with Hanlen all summer, and Embiid has been privy to some of those sessions. If the lessons had not been going well, one would think Embiid would not add to the pressure by saying Fultz should be back to himself again.

While Embiid is, naturally, having some fun while on his home continent, with a little under two months until training camp it his good to see he has a positive mindset going into the season.

He knows if he does, indeed, play at an MVP-level, all the experts who have handed the Eastern Conference title to Boston or Toronto could be in for a surprise.