Embiid or Oden 2.0?

[Jackal]

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft who missed his rookie season with injury, suffered a setback in the healing process of his right foot, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

After weeks of rigorous workouts, Embiid had not felt pain in the foot, but a recent CT scan revealed an issue in the healing process, sources said. Philadelphia is consulting with doctors on how to best proceed, and it's still premature to speculate on the possibility of another surgical procedure that could sideline Embiid, sources said.

I didn't write this.

That sucks, read he was going to play summer league and was looking forward to seeing him and Randle on the court again. Hopefully he has a productive career and isn't derailed by injuries before he gets a shot.

[Kevin]

Wrong link.

I hope he's not going to get the same fate Oden had.

[mp3]

From what I have read on Joel he hasn't put in much effort in his rehab this season.

Right now nba wise Greg Oden is leaps and bounds ahead of Joel.

[Sauru]

for some people getting a few mil is enough and they could care less about actually playing baksetball or any other sport

[JaketheFlake]

I hope not, I really thought he could be the next big thing or at least be the rookie of the year next season.

[stereoxide]

Will be a sad thing if we never see him do Dream Shakes in the NBA-level. Hope he gets better and become a productive player.

[NovU]

Time to turn to bowling alley. Bynum had a good time there too as a 76ers.

[Spree#8]

He had surgery in June of last year. The timetable for recovery was set at 5-8 months. It's been 12 and the foot still hasn't healed, apparently (how the hell was he doing those between the legs dunks in warmups, then?). The worst case scenario may be turning into a reality.

This is a nice time for a reminder that if Embiid's foot injury had occurred a few weeks later, Cleveland probably would have taken him #1 and Wiggins would have fallen to Philly, as the Bucks were set on Parker. Now, we can just wait until they announce that Joel needs another surgery and will sit out next season as well and we can start referring to him as Bynum 2.0. Then we can also start looking at 2016 draft prospects. What a time to be a Sixers fan.

At least now the teams close to Philly in the draft can get out of their heads that Hinkie won't take Towns/Okafor if one of them falls to #3 and even if he does take him, he'll do it only to trade him. The Lakers can also stop dreaming about taking Russell #2 to demand a king's ransom for him from Hinkie, because Philly doesn't need a bigman.

[Andrew]

Not very promising, but hopefully for the sake of his career and the 76ers' future, it turns out to be a minor setback in the long run. After that initial injury however, I was expecting him to fall further in the Draft.

[shadowgrin]

Oh well, no big loss to the Sixers for now. The tank will just have to keep on rolling as planned.

[Jackal]

76ers center Joel Embiid may not be available to play at the start of the NBA season after the latest setback in the healing of his right foot, an NBA source said Sunday. There's also a legitimate chance that the 7-footer could miss the entire season.

:|

[NovU]

For me, this is the biggest disappointment for the upcoming season because I waited for entire year anticipating his comeback.

Let's be honest. Healthy Embiid would be a #1 pick in almost any year including this year no matter Towns or KAT. Even last year, Embiid went #3 only because of injury. Wiggins despite the tag 'next LBJ' was more than likely to go 2nd behind Embiid.

(But I think he's got some issues on personal level. His tweets made me question his maturity and level of sanity.)

[Andrew]

So...too early to say the 76ers definitely should've gone in a different direction? And if so, who?

[NovU]

I am thinking Randle if not Exum. Aaron Gordon went fourth right behind Embiid but I don't know about him much.

What you think?

[Andrew]

Probably Randle, or perhaps Payton since they traded away MC Dub anyway. It's tough to gauge with Randle of course, given his terribly unlucky injury on opening night.

[stereoxide]

76ers drafted Payton right? Then traded him for some Euro guy playing overseas.

[Andrew]

So they did.

[NovU]

I am still not convinced Payton can become a top 5 player from that year's draft pool. His shooting is way too dismal that I actually would put Smart over this guy because Smart has distinctive strength to his game. In this PG flooded league, I think Smart will complement a contending team more than Payton could. Sure though Payton has better prototypical point guard skillset.

[Andrew]

Yeah, Smart's another option. Glancing at last year's Draft, no one's close to emerging as a "How on Earth did they pass him up?" type of player in the vein of a Paul Pierce or Paul George...at least, not yet. In that respect, gambling on Embiid - especially when they already had Noel - isn't too bad.

[[Q]]

Looks like he's been trying harder to slide into Rihanna's DMs than sliding back onto the court

[bowdown]

What a waste. Atleast I don't feel as bad for him as Oden because the dude seems pretty immature and douchey.

[Jackal]

76ers center Joel Embiid will likely miss the 2015-16 season. The 7-footer will have a second surgery after the latest setback in the healing of his right foot, according to several NBA sources. The team will decide whether to have it in North Carolina or at the New York Hospital of Special Surgery. “I would say there’s a great possibility that Embiid won’t play next year,” the source said. “Just think how long they sat him when they thought he was healthy.”

The Sixers are planning as if Embiid won’t play this season, sources say. Another source said the franchise is concerned that this setback could be career-threatening. The Sixers are expected to release a statement about Embiid’s immediate future. It could come as early as next week. – via Philadelphia Inquirer

mobile.philly.com/blogs/?wss=/philly/blogs/deep-sixer/&id=313812061&

Drafting Okafor makes sense now.

[NovU]

That is damn sad. Seriously I hope he doesn't turn out to be Oden. Right now there's some chance it'll be even worse. He hasn't even played a single minute.

At least Okafor + Noel frontcourt will be fun to watch. Unfortunately though I can't think of anyone else from that team worth looking forward to. Covington, Jakarr, and Canaan? Would make a decent D-League team.

[Jackal]

They still have a shitload of first round picks though so there's that.

[Spree#8]

I have suspected this would be the case ever since the draft. Assuming Embiid isn't a cripple, Okafor is quite literally the worst possible fit for the team. He was obviously BPA at #3, but trading down seemed to be the way to go. With Russell off the board, I'd have liked to use Jah in a trade down to get Hezonja or Winslow (and a few additional assets for the trade down, of course). No idea if Hezonja was doable, but Winslow surely was since he fell all the way to #10. Hinkie just taking Okafor and doing nothing made me think Joel is in a bad way.

Ruland, Webber, Brand, Bynum, Embiid. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Unfortunately though I can't think of anyone else from that team worth looking forward to. Covington, Jakarr, and Canaan? Would make a decent D-League team.

Well, they just got Stauskas. He had a shitty rookie season, but showed some progress after the ASW and it's too early to say he can't be an impact player. His shooting will surely help. They still have Saric stashed in Europe, who maybe will one day come over.

Covington is a legit NBA player, there's no doubt about it. Canaan probably isn't. Jury's still out on JaKarr, the physical gifts are definitely there and he can play literally every position and somehow hold his own. I still think he can become a pretty good do-it-all role player.

Besides, like Jackal mentioned, a boatload of picks is still on the way. Lakers, Heat, Thunder and Kings all owe Sixers a first rounder. Sacramento was also kind enough to throw in a couple of pick swap options, which may or may not come in handy. Then there's the Sixers' own pick, which should be high again. Between Okafor's defensive deficiencies, him being a rookie and - still - not enough shooting and playmaking on the team, don't expect more than 25 wins. Might be even less if Hinkie doesn't bring Ish Smith back, because with Canaan as the starting point guard, Jahlil isn't likely to even receive a proper post entry pass.

Also, if I remember correctly, after the Stauskas/Thompson/Landry trade, Philly is still about 12 million under the salary floor, so expect more trades where they eat dead weight salary and receive more picks for their trouble.

The rebuild isn't doomed, but this really fucking sucks. Even if the second surgery does the trick and Embiid can play one day, it appears safe to say the rebuild is no longer about him and no significant decisions should be made with him in mind. He'll likely never be healthy enough to be a franchise player, despite his tremendous talent.