Remember when the Philadelphia 76ers had an infamous players-only meeting last season which somehow turned out to be a well-documented one? Well, that saga seems to have taken a surprising turn once more following this latest development.
Joel Embiid, who was at the core of that meeting after he was reportedly called out by some players, previously bared to the public that he knew the identity of the very person who spilled the details of its contents. He strongly claimed knowing who the snitch was, but a certain media personnel who was also featured in that episode would beg to disagree.
ESPN Senior Insider Shams Charania seemingly indicated that Embiid was merely bluffing. Just recently, he went on to state that he would be stunned if the All-Star big man truly knew the individual who purportedly spilled the beans to the media in the aftermath of said meeting.
Basically, Shams was almost making it appear that Embiid was just making things up. Given how awkward it would be for either of them to shed light on what actually transpired, the public will probably never know the truth, but if Shams is right, then this could end up being a full-blown crisis later on for the 76ers locker room.
Tensions could rise for the 76ers after Joel Embiid gets publicly called out
The dynamics of the situation back then complicates things if what Shams was signaling turns out to be the truth. Embiid, whom Tyrese Maxey and the others reportedly called out during that players-only meeting, was the one who suggested that he will no longer take part in similar instances moving forward due to the alleged presence of the snitch.
If Embiid is indeed making things up or just aggrandizing the situation, that could hint at the dynamics on the team behind the scenes. Even at this juncture, there is likely some degree of discord in the locker room, especially given Embiid’s drastic pronouncement.
Sans any penchant for plain sailing, the 76ers are exactly the kind of team which cannot afford any kind of dysfunction in the locker room. They are already dealing with a lot of mishaps and missteps well before the season begins, and a brewing tension in the locker room will only mess with their chances.
Hopefully, the team can fully get behind that episode from last season, lest they risk sabotaging their otherwise solid shot at mounting a huge comeback campaign.