More than any other team, the Philadelphia 76ers probably have the widest range of possibilities awaiting them next season. Depending on how their luck plays out when it comes to injuries and the way their Eastern Conference foes turn out to be, they could very well make a deep playoff run or even miss it altogether.
One things is for sure, though — the 76ers have a very slim margin of error if they want to succeed next season. Now, success with this group remains to be determined, but if they wish to go far into the postseason, which is honestly the bare minimum for which fans would be satisfied with, they have to foster better team chemistry, which was elusive in the previous campaign thanks to all the ill-timed injuries they suffered.
But as last season proved to them, even having a slew of veterans will not guarantee a smooth-sailing locker room. The 76ers had their own problems internally back then, even going as far as having an alleged snitch spill the beans on the meat of their players-only meeting early in the season, which definitely left a mark on the team’s core players, most notably Joel Embiid.
76ers have a new trouble brewing as Joel Embiid makes a quietly stern announcement
As a result, Embiid himself seems like he is no longer interested in taking part in anything similar to mend things if they get close to breaking apart. Just a couple of weeks ago, Embiid pronounced that he will no longer participate in any and all closed-door team meetings after the very leakage that happened in their most recent one.
Not too long ago, Embiid bared to the public that he knew the identity of the player who revealed the contents of that players-only meeting, expressing his sheer disappointment over that fact. Fans started speculating as to who might have done it, but from the looks of it, it is extremely unlikely that we will ever get to know the person who caused the damage.
Some individuals in the fanbase wildly suggested that it could have been Eric Gordon, but the veteran quickly shot those guessworks down by going as far as directly addressing a certain fan who wrote a post about him being the snitch.
Nevertheless, this could create a crevice on the team if the push comes to shove and 76ers players deem it proper to talk among themselves in a similar fashion. Of course, not having Embiid voice out what he thinks would have an adverse impact on the team’s on-court and off-court dynamic, as he remains their best player and clear leader on the hardwood.
Hopefully, minor issues and missteps do not come to a head next season that would prompt players to have another one of those well-documented meetings. Otherwise, the Philadelphia 76ers could find themselves in an awkward situation where Joel Embiid, their best player, simply decides that it would be best to remain nonchalant.