Last week, 76ers’ fans and NBA fans were shocked by the news of Joel Embiid and the fact that there is a real chance he misses the 2015-2016 season. Now this is a huge blow to a 76ers team that really did plan on Joel to start the year along side Nerlens Noel at center. The news was broken by 76ers beat reporter Keith Pompey via Twitter. “According to sources, #Sixers center Joel Embiid will have a second surgery and is likely to miss 2015-2016 season.” With Embiid likely out another year, the Sixers are faced with a difficult situation. Do they move on from Embiid and leave him out of their rebuilding plan or do they wait another year and hope he develops into the franchise center his potential has them to believe?
It truly is a tough decision to make, for each choice will now be center around Joel Embiid’s health and whether or not he is able to return to action. It certainly does look like the Sixers were prepared for such a scenario, as they drafted Duke Center Jahiil Okafor with the number 3 overall pick in this year’s draft. Now although the 76ers already have two centers on their roster (Noel and Embiid), Jahiil Okafor was the best pick they could of made. The Sixers draft picks in recent years have been made off the idea of “best player available” mentality. Okafor was obviously the best player available and after Okafor, the talent and potential of each player after dropped significantly. Plus, Okafor is an established center, and unlike Noel and Embiid, will be able to play his first season and make a serious impact.
If the 76ers do decide to stick with Embiid, will having two talented big men on the floor (Noel and Okafor) and one game changing center (Embiid) coming off the bench really be a bad thing. They can always experiment having all three on the team and see if it will work out. If not, they can trade one of them and receive another highly coveted draft pick to help the rebuild get back on course. With the Embiid injury, the Sixers aren’t necessarily back where they started. They still have tons of draft picks, a boat load of cap space, and a young developing roster with already two cornerstone players (Noel Embiid).
Obviously, the injury to Embiid is heart breaking and really hurts the Sixers development THIS year. But with another top 5 pick next year, along with 3 more first rounder’s, the ability to sign a marquee free agent, and the possible return of Embiid, the 76ers are still in good position for the 2016-2017. Add in the fact that Dario Saric will finally come from overseas that season, and the Sixers look to be poised for a playoff berth with or without Joel Embiid.