Every so often, an anonymous source comes out with a bold, unsubstantiated claim about a star player. Sometimes a local writer picks up on it, runs with it, and gets himself into a weeklong mess that includes a media tour justifying the decision to go to print.

Other times, a highly-respected national reporter sits down with another of high qualifications and drops a bombshell. The latter happened earlier this week when Jackie MacMullan joined Zach Lowe on his podcast The Lowe Post.

MacMullan has previously written longform pieces on Joel Embiid’s first All-Star season and the influence that Luc Mbah a Moute has had on Cameroonian players. She’s earned the respect of the most important player in the Sixers franchise and on Lowe’s podcast, she called into question the relationship between the team and star Jimmy Butler:

“I think he’s on thin ice, Zach. I think he’s on thin ice. And I think he’s a very talented player and no one has ever called him soft, either. He’s a very tough player. And on paper, he would be exactly what you would want on a team: he’s not a selfish player; I would never say that about him. He defends… boy does he defend. He gets at it, he makes good decisions on the offensive end of the floor. But… I don’t know him well enough to know, is it real or is it bravado – this whole idea that ‘I’m going to take everyone on. You gonna bully me? You gonna call me a bully? I’m gonna bully you back!’ I can tell you that – having spent a couple of days in Philadelphia – they don’t love it. “And I think if you read the story, there was one Philadelphia person in the organization that said, ‘if you want to get paid, be quiet. You might try that.’

MacMullan and Lowe then went on to question whether Jimmy Butler is going to get offered a max contract extension this off-season.

That and more after the jump:

This exchange on the max extension offered perhaps the most interesting insight for the short and long-term plans of the team:

Lowe: I’ve already said that I don’t think he’s getting the full 5-year max from them. And people think it’s blasphemy, and his people think it’s blasphemy. I don’t think he’s getting the full five year max. Now, I think it’ll be very close, but I think they’re gonna use that fifth year as the hammer… It’s gonna be like [Nikola] Jokic. Jokic didn’t quite get the max… he got a tiny bit less than the max.”

MacMullan: That’s an interesting question. I would take it a step further. Are [the Sixers] sure they want him?

Lowe: Well, they went in eyes wide open. They do a lot of deep intel. They knew all the stories, they heard everything, but it’s another thing to live it.

MacMullan: And you know what else? You can know all the research and do all the research on that, but you can’t possibly know what’s going on inside Joel Embiid’s head. And I’m telling you, Joel Embiid is the most important person on that franchise; it’s not even close. He’s got the ears of the owners. And if Joel Embiid decides Jimmy Butler’s too much trouble – and I’m not saying that’s what he thinks right now, I’m not saying that at all – but if it comes to that, Jimmy Butler’s not winning.

It’s Joel Embiid’s team. Butler has to buy into that, or this marriage might not last beyond the 2018-19 season.