After their fiery start to the offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers are probably not looking to make another big splash. Aside from the fact that they do not really have easily ascertainable means to do so, there is little sense in rocking a boat that has not even tried to sail yet. As currently constructed, they will enter the upcoming season as one of the definitive favorites to come out of the East.
Longtime NBA analyst Bill Simmons, however, has floated a rather unorthodox, nuclear option for the 76ers, which includes them trying to trade Joel Embiid. Simmons recently teased the possibility of Philly's brain trust shipping the former MVP away despite their acquisition of Jaylen Brown raising their collective ceiling on the latest episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast.
While that is unlikely at this point, it remains an unexplored scenario that is technically still available for the front office.
It must be noted that Simmons is a notorious Celtics superfan, so there might be some hidden agenda with this theory of his. Be that as it may, the new-look 76ers front office has already shown that it will not shy away from making colossal changes, so there could indeed be a world out there where the supposed core four consisting of Embiid, Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe could end up being a mere what-if.
BIll Simmons suggests the 76ers will still try to trade Joel Embiid
Embiid missed a significant chunk of last season as expected, but he definitely made his appearances count and strongly felt. He basically carried the 76ers en route to a playoff series win in the first round, upsetting a Celtics squad whcih had already staged a commanding 3-1 lead over them.
With Embiid still performing like an All-NBA-caliber player when healthy, the most likely scenario is that the 76ers will end up sticking with him as they await what their new nucleus looks like together, especially with the superstar center being healthier this offseason. As such, Simmons' trade proposition is definitely more far-fetched than he thinks it is.
76ers likely keeping Embiid for the time being
At most, the front office will most probably conduct no more than due diligence when it comes to entertaining the possibility of trading Joel Embiid. At this juncture, the 76ers are the only team that makes sense for him, and the lack of an actual market for his services, due in large part to his mammoth contract, makes it unproductive to double down on that contrived front.
For now, Joel Embiid is definitely here to stay. Until and unless push comes to shove, the 76ers will go forth with their new core moving forward.
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