The Clippers set their organization back even further by facilitating cap-circumvention sponsorships for Kawhi Leonard, and the league docked them five first-round picks as a result. Now LA needs to focus on the future and get on the right track. The Philadelphia Sixers could help them do just that.
On the "Third Apron Podcast" with Yossi Gozlan and Sam Quinn, the latter pondered whether the Clippers will become a dumping ground for bad contracts like Joel Embiid's.
"Are you willing and able to take damaged goods? Somebody who's injured, somebody who's older, somebody who has a contract that doesn't really fit into the structure of whatever their team is building. Joel Embiid is a really obvious one."
Philadelphia signed Embiid to a three-year, $193 million extension before the start of the 2024-25 season that will kick in this year. He'll make right at $58 million in 2026-27, $62.6 million in 2027-28, and has a $67.3 million player option in 2028-29.
Embiid is healthy and ready with training camp just a couple of weeks away, so all is well right now, but if that changes, the Sixers could think about a trade, even more so now that they have added more talent around Tyrese Maxey.
If that time comes, could LA give Philadelphia a way out of Embiid's contract?
Clippers could become a dumping ground for bad contracts
Or at least, they should become a dumping ground to help recoup the draft assets they lost, though they did get a couple of unprotected first-round picks in the Leonard trade. For this scenario to be even remotely possible, the Sixers would have to throw more in the Clippers' direction (perhaps the picks they got from LA in the James Harden trade?). They'd also need to have a quality starting center ready to step in. Adem Bona (currently out with a left ankle sprain) and Ariel Hukporti wouldn't cut it.
Philadelphia already knows it will need to manage Embiid's minutes during the regular season, which will be a hurdle, even more so because of the lack of insurance they have behind him. The dominoes fell in the Sixers' favor this offseason with the addition of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, so there is more urgency to make a championship run.
Embiid could aid in that, but injuries have been (and will continue to be) an issue. Philadelphia's new front office will have to find the best way to handle it, and that could mean trading him. His contract limits where he can go, but given the Clippers' position, they could emerge as a trade partner and help the Sixers solve an inescapable problem, as he won't be able to live up to his salary.
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