Joel Embiid ponders future with Sixers following early exit
Embiid: “I’ve always said that I want to end my career [in Philadelphia], and if it happens, good. If it doesn’t happen, well, you move on and all that stuff.”
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Joel Embiid wondered out loud on Sunday what the 76ers’ being swept by the Boston Celtics means to his future in Philadelphia.
The Sixers had just lost to Celtics, 110-106, in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series.
“I don’t make the decisions,” Embiid said, when asked about the franchise’s uncertainty. “I’m here in Philly. Whatever happens, happens.
“I’ve always said that I want to end my career [in Philadelphia], and if it happens, good. If it doesn’t happen, well, you move on and all that stuff.”
The three-time All-Star center finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks on Sunday.
The Sixers have more than $400 million tied up in Embiid, Ben Simmons, Al Horford, and Tobias Harris over the next several seasons, and the team doesn’t figure to be among one of the Eastern Conference contenders. So some are questioning if the Sixers should try to trade Embiid or Simmons, a two-time All-Star.
The spacing this season hasn’t been great with Simmons, Embiid, and Horford on the court together. The obvious choice would be to try to move Horford. But the Sixers might have a hard time moving the remaining three years of the $97 million guaranteed deal he signed last summer. They might also have a tough time moving Harris, who signed a five-year, $180 million deal last summer.
“I can be dominant down low, but then again, to help the team, it’s not always about me,” Embiid said. “And with the roster we have and, if it is the same roster next year, I got to be able to space the floor.”
He averaged 30 points and 12.2 rebounds in the series vs. the Celtics.