The Philadelphia 76ers have been surrounded by drama for the past four months and with the NBA regular season set to start tonight, the drama has not been resolved; in fact, it may have gotten worse. Could Joel Embiid follow James Harden’s lead with wanting out of Philly?
Harden has been the main source of stress for the Philadelphia 76ers front office and Sixers fans everywhere since he requested a trade after opting into his player option for the 2023-24 season. He is notably upset with the fact that Daryl Morey was unwilling to offer him a max contract, and can you blame him? Yes, Harden essentially won the team two playoff games against the Boston Celtics on his own. But he was nowhere to be found in the other five games, specifically Games 6 and 7 when it mattered.
Understandably, there is now a stalemate between Daryl Morey and James Harden. There is no turning back now for either of them, however, Morey needs to tread extremely carefully or else the future of the franchise is at stake, and that is not hyperbole.
Everyone is speculating that Joel Embiid may be on the verge of requesting a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers and if we are honest with ourselves, why shouldn’t he? The petulance that Embiid has had to put up with when Ben Simmons was on the Sixers and now this Harden situation is truly unbelievable. Two multi-time All-Star players on maximum contracts demanded to leave Philadelphia during Embiid’s prime. The co-stars on the team that is supposed to help this team in the playoffs are actively doing the opposite. How can we expect Embiid to just sit by and not be frustrated?
With that in mind, it appears the New York Knicks are preparing an intriguing and substantial trade offer for Embiid, should the reigning NBA MVP decide to demand a trade out of Philadelphia.