Philadelphia 76ers: Is Joel Embiid unhappy?

The Philadelphia 76ers’ star is unafraid to voice his displeasure.

It’s time to start monitoring Joel Embiid‘s happiness. With the Philadelphia 76ers swept out of the playoffs, a roster that fails to complement him, and his old friend Jimmy Butler lighting up the Bucks, Embiid no longer seems fully content in South Philly.

Consistent failure has consequences. The Butler saga was unforgivable. The complete disregard for Embiid’s skill set when building the roster was also unforgivable. You cannot run a promising franchise into the ground, cast a bleak shadow over the prime years of your star’s career, and then expect him to smile through it.

Embiid’s recent Twitter escapades — in conjunction with a new username, Joel “Troel” Embiid — read as blatant shade towards the front office. He has been an active tweeter during the Heat’s wins over Milwaukee, and stuff like this is quick to stir up controversy.

Of course, this is in reference to the Mountain Dew commercial that runs during pretty much every NBA broadcast. Embiid made sure to clarify his joke, but frankly, this is not a joke you get from a perfectly content star with no qualms about his situation.

This is not on the level of Eric Bledsoe’s infamous “I Dont wanna be here,” but it’s clear Embiid misses Butler. It’s also clear that Embiid, without serious changes to the roster and an improvement of his situation, will eventually grow tired of Philadelphia’s incessant mediocrity. He has given his heart to the city of Philadelphia, but at some point, the Sixers have to return the favor.

Embiid is on contract through 2022-23, so the Sixers are under no pressure to trade him. But if the Sixers fail to build a more effective team around him, there’s a not-so-distant timeline in which Embiid demands a trade or, at the very least, takes his unhappiness public — and in a manner more unambiguous than a clever subtweet.

The Sixers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it’s largely their own doing. Embiid is a reserved person, but he has a mean internet streak on his resume and is unafraid of putting the front office on blast. He did so with Bryan Colangelo, and now he’s doing so with Elton Brand.

It may seem overzealous to leap from a couple nostalgic Jimmy Butler tweets to an “Embiid might leave” type of conclusion. That said, Embiid’s frustrations last season were well documented, and you didn’t have to look hard to see the body language of a disgruntled star fighting an uphill battle.

Philadelphia has enough talent to compete for years to come, and hopefully the next coach will breathe new life into the organization. But, the Sixers are working with a limited timeframe. You cannot continue to fail — continue to come up short — and expect Embiid to fully endorse his situation.

Stars in the NBA are often volatile and open to change. Embiid is the most Philly athlete in a long time, but even he can leave. Even he can force his way out. I’m not sure the Sixers are as far away from that kind of inflection point as many would like to believe. This offseason is critical.