And just like that, the Philadelphia Sixers come up short once again of the conference finals. They're entering an offseason that should be full of change, but there's one problem — one of the moves they need to make might be impossible. They need to hit the reset button and trade Joel Embiid, but thanks to the extension they signed him to in 2024, the odds of that happening are probably zero.
Embiid's injuries have, unfortunately, defined his career. He can't stay healthy, playing a combined 96 regular-season games over the past three seasons. Because of his history and age (32), teams would be wary of trading for him without even looking at his contract. But when you factor that into the conversation, yikes.
He'll make a little less than $58 million next season, around $62.6 million in 2027-28, and has a $67.2 million player option in 2028-29. That is still a few years away, but you can go ahead and bank on him exercising that.
In today's world of penny pinching under the CBA, even teams that might've traded for Embiid otherwise aren't able to. It would take a lot of maneuvering to get there, and not every team can create the flexibility to do so, even if they wanted to.
Could Sixers trade Joel Embiid if they wanted to?
That question is key because Philadelphia may want to run it back with Embiid and trade Paul George instead. His contract wouldn't be as difficult to move off of, and it probably wouldn't take that much for the Sixers to talk themselves into flipping George for another controversial former All-Star.
At the very least, you have to think that the possibility of an Embiid trade is on the front office's mind. Building around Tyrese Maxey (he was essentially a non-factor against New York, but it's too soon to think about a trade) and VJ Edgecombe is what the Sixers need most, and that can't fully happen until Joel is gone. They're stuck, though.
Extending Embiid on a three-year, $193 million deal a few months after he played 39 games and was currently dealing with knee issues didn't make sense at the time two years ago. Still, Philadelphia could've justified it by making the deep playoff run it thought it would after signing George. So much for that.
The Sixers have tried, and then tried again, with Embiid. He was the only player to show up in Sunday's Game 4 loss, and as valiant as his effort was in the playoffs after coming off an appendectomy, that doesn't change the fact that it hasn't worked out with him. That likely won't change, but Philadelphia might be trapped in that same cycle for a couple more years. Not willingly, but because there is no other choice.
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