Over the next couple of weeks we will evaluate the Sixers' roster following the 18-64 season. Up now is center Joel Embiid.
Position: Center
Status: Embiid is on his rookie contract. He is guaranteed $4.6 million in 2015-16. The Sixers have the option on his contract for the following two seasons. If both options are exercised, Embiid will earn another $10.9 million.
Signature game of 2014-15
On March 6 the Jazz came to town and beat the Sixers, 89-83. Embiid had the highlight of the night, only it took place during pregame warmups. Embiid put a ball between his legs as he went up for a one-handed jam. The highlight went viral on Twitter.
Embiid had not played in a game prior to that, and he didn't play in any of the games that followed. That dunk, however, caused quite a stir. In that moment, he looked healthy enough to play, and yet Embiid still had not been cleared for 5-on-5 scrimmaging.
Embiid left the Sixers' practice facility the following day in a walking boot and the said it was strictly for “precautionary reasons.”
A checkup with his Los Angeles-based surgeon took place a couple days later and Embiid received a positive report. He was allowed to increase his basketball activity the rest of the way.
Prospectus
There is so much potential in the 7-footer, but there are also unknowns. Pregame shooting drills and playing 1-on-1 against development coach Curtis Sumpter allowed people to see Embiid's athleticism, coordination and ability to make outside shots. But there was no full-court running nor NBA-caliber opponents challenging him.
Playing in the summer league is key for Embiid. As of April 16 when Sixers head coach Brett Brown spoke with reporters the day after the season ended, he could not say with certainty Embiid would play in summer league action. However, on Tuesday, Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil said while a guest on Breakfast on Broad that Embiid will play in summer league. He answered ”yes he will” twice for good measure.
Sixers players reconvene May 18 in Philadelphia to begin offseason workouts. To date, Embiid has not been cleared to play 5-on-5, but he must be getting close if he is in fact going to play in competitive games this July.
Embiid's work ethic has been questioned. Last Thursday, Brown admitted at times this season he was not happy with the 21-year-old’s approach to his eating and conditioning. Brown did say he saw a big difference in Embiid's attitude when he was allowed to get on the court and do basketball activities.
Brown has spent two years putting a system in place that emphasizes sports science, recovery, career-best fitness and development. Brown holds Embiid accountable, like he does all his players, to adhere to the program’s rules.
Patience will be necessary when the young center takes the court. Big men tend to develop slower than perimeter players. Additionally, players coming back from injury need time to find their form from both a mental and a physical standpoint.
Hopefully for the Sixers, Embiid being an understudy this season accelerates his on-court development next year.
On Joel Embiid …
"If you can't coach your best players, I call it buying time and dying; you have nothing. I tell my guys all the time you want me to coach you. You want to show up and be on time. You want to do the right thing. You want to act the right way.
"Nerlens [Noel] was no different. Other young players go through the same thing, and you [as a coach] go through heartache. You go through things where you have to stand up and say that is not part of our culture. That is normal with any young player and Joel was a part of that."
-Brett Brown on April 16
"The number one thing for him is to play healthy. I think the best thing for him is to have a good summer and a good summer league so that he has that confidence going in [next season] to be injury free and just be able to play. That is the main thing.
"Everyone knows his potential. Obviously he is going to grow. The way they set things up here, you have to get better; we saw it with Nerlens [Noel]. At the beginning of the season, he was not as effective, but at the end of the season he was really good. I think that is going to be the same, if not more with Joel.
"He has a good motor and he wants to be good. A lot of times they had to kick him off the court. It is hard for him because people judge him from a video here or a tweet there, I think when he gets on the court everything should be fine."
-Luc Mbah a Moute on April 15