Sixers

Joel Embiid “Anywhere Else” Quote is a Heaping Platter of NBA Offseason Slop

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jul 17th, 2023 · 9:19 AM EDT

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Let’s start the week the only way we know how. With NBA slop and a freak out:

Was not expecting Joel Embiid to say “or anywhere else” when talking about championships… He’s close to his breaking point here in Philly. pic.twitter.com/0MqXX1rnrT

— AJ Torres (@ajtorres1230) July 17, 2023

Oh boy.

Embiid:

“I just wanna win a championship. Whatever it takes. I don’t know where that’s gonna be.. whether it’s (inaudible) Philly or anywhere else. I just wanna have a chance to accomplish that. I wanna see what it feels like to win that first one and think about the next one. It’s not easy, but it takes more than one or two or three guys.”

This is from a July 13th interview with Maverick Carter, a sports media/marketing/business guy who has been friends with LeBron James for a long time. It took place at the inaugural “UNINTERRUPTED” film festival.

But yeah, you get people out here thinking that Embiid is setting the foundation for a trade, or sending a message to Daryl Morey. Maybe that’s the case, or maybe not, but if this was intended with some force, then who’s to blame for cracks beginning to appear in the armor? He’s as much to blame as Morey, James Harden, Ben Simmons, Doc Rivers, or anyone else.

Take this year for example. Joel wins MVP, gets injured again, misses the start of the Boston series, and then shoots 5-18 in game seven and goes on to quit like the rest of his teammates. So if he wants out and wants to join some superteam, that says as much about him as anyone else. Say what you will about the various injuries, but the bottom line is that he’s been unable to match his postseason play to his regular season play when it really matters.

Thing is, Joel still has three more years on his contract at $47 million+, so he’s not going anywhere anytime soon in free agency. He does have a player option for 2026-2027, when he’ll be 32 years old and on the downside of his career, assuming his body can hold up. But he’s the only one who knows what he wants, or who he’s sending a message to, so take this quote and put it in the NBA slop offseason crockpot, which is already close to overflowing.