Before the Philadelphia 76ers made their shocking acquisition of Jaylen Brown, the team was accused of having two of the worst contracts in the NBA.
Former Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey left the team with two more years of a max deal for Paul George and a fresh three-year max extension for Joel Embiid.
That second contract is often viewed as arguably the worst contract in the league. As great as Joel Embiid has been--and can be when healthy--he simply can't avoid the injury report.
The last time Embiid played in more than 40 games in a single season was during the 76ers' 2022-2023 season. In 2025-2026, Embiid played in 38 games. He missed the first few matchups of the Boston Celtics series.
In 2026-2027, Embiid will make $57.9 million. His final player option on the $187.8 million deal will cost the Sixers $67.2 million if the veteran big man decides to pick it up.
For anyone considering Embiid's new deal among the worst in the NBA, it's hard to debate. But two NBA insiders, Brian Windhorst and Tim McMahon, are throwing out quotes that surely make the Sixers look better.
There are worse deals in the NBA
In late June, the Washington Wizards agreed to terms on a new deal with Trae Young. They signed the veteran guard to a four-year, $212 million deal, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Windhorst made headlines for calling it one of the worst deals in the league.
“I’m sorry, I said that I’m sorry I said it that way, I don’t mean to be mean. I don’t think they could trade this contract unless they attach the number one pick to it.”
Nearly one month later, The Hoop Collective is saying something similar about the Milwaukee Bucks' deal with Gary Trent Jr. The veteran guard recently inked a $64 million deal. That's a boatload of money to shell out for a role player who averaged 8.1 points per game during the 2025-2026 NBA season.
“He was not getting this in the open market. It’s a completely inexplicable contract if you just look at it on its face. It’s a terrible deal for the Bucks. Awful. Honestly, in terms of value, it’s the worst contract since Trae Young, if not worse," Tim McMahon stated.
“I got on the Wizards for that contract. I said that I just don’t think it’s trade-able, and I don’t think that this is trade-able,” Windhorst said.
Think that Joel Embiid contract is bad? Well, it could be worse.
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