Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

A month ago, it was announced that Joel Embiid will need surgery and miss the entire upcoming season. It was said then that the surgery would happen within “ten days.” It’s been thirty, and there’s been nothing but radio silence. This has – of course – led to rampant speculation that Embiid’s “team” doesn’t want the surgery because he isn’t in pain and maybe he could play this year. But according to John Gonzalez, that’s not the case.

One of Gonzo’s sources said the delay is because the young Embiid is still coming to terms with the fact that he’ll miss another year:

The source indicated that Embiid and his confidants wanted more time to review the matter and select a doctor. A doctor has been chosen, though the source declined to provide that information.

The source said Embiid also reached out to Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. The Thunder star underwent a bone graft on his right foot in late March. That surgery was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, home to one of at least 12 doctors the Sixers and Embiid have so far consulted about Embiid’s hyper-complicated situation.

The source told Gonzo that the surgery would take place in the “near future” and another source said Embiid is not second-guessing the procedure. Reaching out to Durant makes sense – even though he hasn’t played on his surgically repaired foot yet – since he’s a superstar in the league going through the same thing as Embiid. That’s all fine. What’s not so fine is the total silence from the Sixers. We all know Sam Hinkie likes his secrecy, but this isn’t strategy or maneuvering or mulling over a transaction, this is the future of a Hinkie-approved face of the franchise. A little transparency would be nice.