Well, that was certainly some press conference. We’ll have a more complete recap shortly, but first let’s discuss Bryan Colangelo talking about putting on his big boy pants in front of Joel Embiid and the medical team.

Colangelo was asked if he understood why some fans felt deceived over the way Joel Embiid’s injury news has been handled. He explained that after having Embiid play the road leg of a back-to-back earlier this season, as opposed to the home portion, he heard from fans loud and clear. Here’s the clip in part, with the full transcript of his answer:

“The first time that we came upon this back-to-back scenario where he would play a game or not play a game, and it aired on the side of he’s gonna play in Minnesota if you remember. And there was talk about it being a national TV game. Let’s put it this way: I made sure that never happened again.”

“If we were gonna er on the side of which game he was gonna play, we were gonna er on the side of him playing here. Always was the case. That particular one was the first if I’m not mistaken, and it’s a response basically to our fans. They spoke, we listened. And I think that’s important. But I instructed the medical team that we should only factor that in if it is within the scope of his plan of progression, in terms of rehabilitating his injury or managing his injury.”

Colangelo didn’t mention it, but it’s worth noting that Embiid has played precisely one game since injuring his knee against the Trailblazers on Inauguration Day– at home, against the Rockets, on national TV, a week later. It certainly feels like fan expectation may have played into that decision.

Still, letting your voice be heard works. I’ll meet you all outside the practice facility in an hour. Bring signs.