Once again, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves bombarded with questions entering the offseason. Following another campaign that saw them not only falter to the finish line, but also be booted out of the playoffs for the first time since 2017, there is no question that the franchise is in a perilous position at the moment.
The team already has two of the least appealing contracts in the NBA right now, and there is not a lot of reason to believe that they will still be able to get a good return for their lucrative investment. Aside from that, this handcuffs the front office into making any more meaningful upgrades to the roster thanks to the team’s congested payroll.
Between Joel Embiid and Paul George, though, it is the former whose return to play remains a bit more shaky. The superstar center missed all but 19 games this season, and his knee injury is clearly progressing much slower than expected. Including the previous campaign, he has been absent in 106 games over the last couple of seasons, or 65 percent of all contests during that stretch.
Joel Embiid injury update will definitely not move 76ers fans
Things have been pretty dicey between the 76ers and Embiid’s camp with respect to his recovery plan, but for now, there is finally some clarity on which stage the superstar is in his current track to return to the hardwood.
Embiid has reportedly undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee just recently, with the 76ers saying that he is set to be re-evaluated after six weeks.
While this tangible update is better than nothing, reading the ebbs and flows of his previous bouts with recovery actually makes this update a glib one. The timeline the team has put out suggests that Embiid only went through a minor procedure, as one sports doctor already pointed out, hinting at this one as a band-aid solution and nothing more.
If so, there is hardly any reason to expect that Embiid will be able to take a big leap in his recovery and return to hardwood action soon. This should not be taken to mean that the team is finally in the clear when it comes to exercising the heightened caution they have been taking with the All-Star center.
Of course, we’re no medical specialists, but it is difficult not to overthink and read into this troubling trend when it comes to Joel Embiid. Hopefully, this is a real and actual step toward the Philadelphia 76ers securing the services of their best player consistently.