The Philadelphia 76ers returned to action with a loss at the Boston Celtics, and now rank 20-33 for the season.
The Sixers are enduring a very disappointing season, and even with all their stars available for the game in Boston, they were comfortably beaten this time, 124-104.
Joel Embiid scored only 15 points, a long way from the player who once put up 70 points in a game.
Embiid has struggled with injuries this season, while off-season addition Paul George has also been disappointing, even if his 17 points at TD Garden was an improvement over his efforts entering the All-Star break.
The Philadelphia 76ers are tied in with Joel Embiid and Paul George for the foreseeable future, with both players signing long-term contracts with the teams.
The team have been heavily criticized, ranking outside the Play-In spots, and there may be a temptation to abandon their current project ‘shut it down‘ and start again. But that is not going to be easy.
Speaking on the Road Trippin’ podcast, former NBA player Channing Frye has said this is something he enquired in conversation about with a former league executive.
He explained: “I asked this question to an NBA ex-GM three weeks ago about Joel Embiid’s contract, PG’s contract, you know what those contracts are, ‘nuclear bombs’ where somebody has their hand on the clicker.
“You cannot get anything from any one of those contracts.
“Joel Embiid got four years, what does Paul George have, four years? Stop it.”
Separately, ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently warned Joel Embiid would be untradeable as he would likely not pass a physical.
When challenged about Embiid’s trade value, Channing responded: “Zero.”
Channing Frye believes Joel Embiid’s knee problem is severely impacting his performances, and believes ‘he’s done’.
Frye said: “I think personally, he’s done. I don’t want him to be done. When he does a move, he can’t stop his leg. When he has to turn, he just falls down. He’s like a baby deer on ice.
“He cannot score unless somebody messes up.”
Embiid has been linked with undergoing surgery on his knee in the off-season, but Frye does not believe this will help.
“How many times do you need to cut your knee open and fix what is wrong?”
