Sixers Notes: Embiid, Simmons, Meeting, Practice

Before agreeing to a three-year, maximum-salary extension during the 2024 offseason, the Sixers and star center Joel Embiid sought a half-dozen medical opinions on the big man’s health, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

According to Shelburne, all of those experts consulted by the Sixers and Embiid expressed a belief that his left knee issue could be managed by “a combination of strategic rest and procedures to promote healing.” Embiid has been undergoing those procedures since last season, Shelburne adds.

However, despite optimism that Embiid would be ready to start the 2024/25 season, his surgically repaired knee remained a problem and postponed his fall debut. The former MVP has appeared in just four of 16 games so far this season and is currently sidelined again due to what the team refers to on its injury report as left knee injury management.

Shelburne’s ESPN feature includes several more interesting tidbits on the 76ers. Here are a few of them, plus one more Sixers-related note:

• Sixers team sources believe it will take at least 33 wins to be in a play-in position in the Eastern Conference this spring, Shelburne writes. While it certainly wouldn’t be ideal for Philadelphia to enter the postseason as the No. 10 seed – which would mean winning two play-in games just to earn a first-round matchup with the East’s No. 1 team – that projection gives the 3-13 club time to turn things around. The 76ers would have to go just 30-36 the rest of the way to reach 33 total wins.
• Former Sixers star and current Nets guard Ben Simmons reached out to Embiid “and others” last summer in the hopes of mending fences, sources tell ESPN. As Shelburne notes, Simmons’ relationships with Embiid and other members of the Sixers organization soured due to his trade request and holdout during his final year in Philadelphia.
• While players and coaches came out of last Monday’s team meeting feeling like it was a productive session, those positive vibes were negated by the fact that details about the meeting leaked to the media almost instantly, Shelburne writes, “further exacerbating the tension and lack of trust” in the locker room.
• Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer explores how the Sixers are doing their best to “stay together” during their early-season struggles and climb out of the 3-13 hole they’ve dug themselves. Tuesday’s practice included a 5-on-5 scrimmage and was more competitive than a typical session on a day before a game, according to Ricky Council.
• In case you missed it, Embiid, Paul George, and Kyle Lowry will all be unavailable for Wednesday’s game vs. Houston. Caleb Martin is considered questionable ahead of pre-game warmups.