March 26, 2024
It's time to break up the 76ers.
Truly break them up.
After another disappointing game on the road and another wasted performance by Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers are left with more questions than answers. It’s a wasted season, one hinged on the hopes that Joel Embiid immediately steps back onto the floor and carries this team to an NBA Finals appearance.
The most likely scenario is that the Sixers struggle just to get in the playoffs, and exit as fast as they entered. I’m done asking questions about this season, just like you. I’m only left with one answer when all is said and done: bringing back Embiid for any part of the regular or postseason is a mistake.
The Sixers are better served keeping the injury-prone MVP on ice, preventing any further injury by Embiid and the embarrassment of another early playoff exit on the floor.
There are a couple of key reasons why Embiid returning is a lost cause, primarily his health and the Sixers' future. It’s just way too much risk for an upcoming offseason full of possibilities. The team just isn’t ready to compete.
Sure, Embiid can lean a little on Maxey, but that’s it. Tobias Harris is too often a ghost, Buddy Hield is now bench material, and the rest are either placeholders or young guys not developed enough. This isn’t the NCAA bracket. Cinderellas don’t dance deep into the NBA postseason, and these current Sixers are no exception.
It’s just not fair to rush a guy back from injury and ask him to carry this team on his back. Selfishly, you would rather watch a team flare out from the playoffs with him, rather than without, but the amount of scrutiny and fallout from another early exit would be placed more on Embiid – which isn’t necessarily accurate this year.
Beyond this spring, the guys Embiid will need to be gelling with won’t even be here next year. This is the second most important reason why the Sixers have to sit Embiid: He’s going to be playing with an entirely new roster next season.
The Sixers stand to have a massive amount of cap space for next season, and we expect Daryl Morey to start maxing out that budget. Ideally, the only two players to return next season would be Embiid and Maxey. Everything else – sorry BBall Paul – is expendable. There is absolutely no reason why Harris should return, nor really anyone else currently on this roster.
The Sixers can sign anyone they want this summer. That’s the key here. Any player looking to win right now can justify the move to Philadelphia. There’s money at play, clearly, but there’s something even greater – desperation. Both Embiid and the Sixers are now ultra-desperate to make this thing work. This could very well be it for the Embiid-Sixers marriage, with him leaving for another city if it all fails one more time.
To have the ability to truly build a team from the ground up with two major pillars already in place is enough to keep Embiid hungry, the Sixers satisfied, and conviction in the new players they bring to Philly. This isn’t a playoff-caliber team right now, but it certainly will be after the team spends, and spends again.
By removing Embiid from the equation for the rest of the year and playoffs, the Sixers begin their next level of commitment to winning. Right now, there’s nothing, only a team struggling to live, let alone win anything.
Not many teams will be able to compete with the amount of money the Sixers have, so they need a hook. Having Embiid on the last few legs of his Philadelphia career is enough incentive to pull a big name. He needs to be totally healthy for that.
The team really doesn’t have any other option at this point than to sit Embiid until 2024-25. There’s no reason to risk further damage by racing back to play with a bunch of guys who won’t even be here next year. That’s a lot to take in for you, I’m sure, as you just want Embiid out there all the time. But this team isn’t built to win much right now, and that won’t change come playoffs.
It certainly will change by the start of next season, something to look forward to at least.
Eytan Shander is a long time radio and TV personality in Philadelphia. In addition to his weekly column, you can currently listen and watch him on Fox29’s Good Day and other sports shows. He’s giving betting advice on OddsShopper. A lifetime Eagles fan, Eytan lives just outside the city with his wife.
Follow Eytan on Twitter: @shandershow
