Sinking Sixers Will Soon Face $300M Joel Embiid Dilemma

On Saturday night, Nets center Nic Claxton sank a miracle putback in the closing seconds of a tied game against the Sixers, lifting Brooklyn to a win.

A quick look at the court in dying moments shows that Claxton grabbed the game-winning offensive rebound over the Sixers’ 6-foot-8 forward Paul George—and not Philadelphia’s 7-foot-2 former MVP center Joel Embiid. And it wasn’t because Embiid—who has missed nearly two-thirds of the team’s games this year—was injured.

Embiid was benched in the fourth quarter by Sixers coach Nick Nurse, who after the game, explained that the 2022–2023 NBA MVP is clearly not 100%. “He’s not himself, we all know that. He’s not certainly the guy we’re used to seeing, playing at a super high level. But, I commend him for giving us what he can,” Nurse said.

Saturday’s loss was the Sixers’ seventh in a row and they fell to 12th in the East, behind Brooklyn. But the Sixers continue to trot out their star whenever possible in what appears to be an attempt to chase the 10th seed and a play-in berth. 

A postseason appearance would barely salvage a season in which Philadelphia was supposed to challenge for the Eastern Conference throne, and the Sixers now have to decide whether a core with Embiid as the centerpiece makes sense—or attempt to move their longtime cornerstone to build around young star Tyrese Maxey. 

Until The Wheels Fall Off

The Sixers are tied up to this core unless they decide to pull the trigger and trade Embiid and George. The two stars and Maxey combine to make about 90% of the league’s salary cap every year until the 2027–2028 season. 

But even if Philadelphia decides to cut its losses and move on, the franchise may not find any takers in the market for two aging, injury-prone stars.

Embiid, who has only played about half of all possible regular-season games since he was drafted in 2014, signed a three-year, $192 million extension that will keep him under contract through the 2028–2029 season. His entire deal runs for five years, including this season, and is worth $299.5 million. He will be 35 years old at the end of the contract.

George looked like a dream signing when the Sixers inked him to a four-year, $211.6 million contract last offseason, but he is having one of the worst seasons of his career. The final year of his contract is in 2027–2028, when he will be 37.

Philadelphia may be better off hoping the two find health in the offseason and trying to win against next year—or else they may have to sell them off for cents on the dollar.