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AUGUST 15TH, 10:10am: Embiid will have a second surgery on his right foot this Tuesday and he is expected to miss the entire 2015/16 season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports.
8:01pm: GM Sam Hinkie confirmed that Embiid will have a bone graft on the fracture site in “seven to 10 days” and will probably miss the 2015/16 season. “We are still in the process of determining the doctor who will perform the procedure, which should be finalized in the coming days,” Hinkie said in a press release. “Sixers Director of Performance Research and Development Dr. David T. Martin will outline and lead Joel’s rehab and recovery plan, in collaboration with a worldwide network of experts and specialists.”
JULY 11TH, 12:23pm: Sixers center Joel Embiid will have a second surgery on his right foot and is expected to miss his second consecutive season, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The reporter said the news has been confirmed by several unidentified sources, one of whom says the injury could be career-threatening.
“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 aren’t counting on Embiid as they plan for next season, according to another source. The team is expected to release an official statement on the 7-footer, possibly by next week.
Embiid sat out his entire rookie season with a stress fracture in the foot after being drafted third overall out of Kansas in 2014. The Sixers had hoped he would be ready for summer league action, but a recent exam showed the injury was healing more slowly than the team expected. Team officials have reportedly committed to the surgical procedure and are deciding whether it will be performed in North Carolina or at the New York Hospital of Special Surgery.
Embiid is scheduled to make nearly $4.627MM this coming season on year two of his four-year rookie scale contract. The Sixers wouldn’t be able to apply for an Disabled Player Exception because they’re under the cap.
Yikes. The Blazers at least got 82 productive games out of Oden. Embiid might not ever play….
I think we may look back and wonder how in the world it was that Embiid, and not Andrew Wiggins, was the leading contender to become the No. 1 pick just a month before the 2014 draft.
Well luckily for Embiid he is going to the right team considering the amount of investment they made into player development with their recent hires and the development of their new $80 million practice facility and head offices.
Disappointing for sure.
The flip side is that if Embiid’s foot wasn’t broken originally, the Sixers would’t have gotten him or Wiggins. Plus, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon missed a whole year, and Dante Exum out for this year. Come 2016, I’d still rather have Embiid (although Gordon may be really good, too.)
Embiid getting hurt again means the Sixers with four first round picks next year could end up with Embiid, Noel, Okafor, Dario Saric and Ben Simmons.
This year’s starting five is Tony Wroten, Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor.
Next year, the Sixers could be adding Jamal Murray (Lakers pick), Isaiah Briscoe (Miami’s Pick), Ben Simmons (Sixers pick), Dario Saric (2014), and Joel Embiid (2014).
There’s still OKC’s 1st round pick, Denver’s 2nd round pick, Sacramento’s 2018 pick, and $50M cap space.
Sixers fans are used to taking the long view at this point.
Tough, long road ahead for this kid. Injuries are ravaging the vaunted ’14 draft class hey?