Nick PicconeYikes.
We had a feeling something like this was coming, simply because the avenue Joel Embiid and the Sixers have taken is not one of normalcy in current day sports. In fact, the Sixers have been terribly mediocre since their 2001 NBA Finals appearance that mostly everyone agreed with Sam Hinkie that this was the road to take in rebuilding the franchise when he took over the reigns as general manager.
Now? Not so much. The Hinkie haters and people against the plan of tanking for the last [and upcoming] several years now have their strongest ammunition to date, and it’s one that’s embedded in raging turmoil and mischaracterizations depending on who you talk to. According to SI’s Brian Geltzeiler, Joel Embiid is the catalyst for the apparent downward spiral the organization is in.
Hinkie certainly was aware of Embiid’s physical issues when he took a calculated risk to select him, but it’s unclear whether he understood the depth of Embiid’s attitude concerns, which have only worsened as a pro.
The fact that Brown sent Embiid home from a West Coast road trip last season for being insubordinate to the team’s strength coach and training staff is well documented, but according to a source, the tipping point in the decision was Embiid physically threatening the strength coach on that road trip. According to sources, this followed a pattern of insubordination from Embiid during the rehabilitation of his initial foot injury that sidelined him for the entire 2014–15 season, where he would repeatedly refuse to answer questions from the training staff about his workouts and therapy sessions.
Embiid’s lax approach to his rehab and the circumstances surrounding the second foot surgery he needed this past summer — which appears like it will cost him the entire 2015–16 season — has caused the organization much anxiety. The simple task of getting Embiid to consistently wear his walking boot was a challenge for the franchise, and multiple sources suggested that some people in Philadelphia’s front office wonder whether a second surgery would have been necessary if Embiid had worn the boot as much as he was told to.
Also, according to multiple sources, Harris did not want Embiid to attend the annual Las Vegas Summer League this past July so they could proceed with the surgery on his navicular bone. Brown and Hinkie were both given strict instructions by Harris to keep Embiid from going to Vegas, yet each of them put the onus on the other to handle the job, and neither did.
Embiid was determined to go to Vegas to party for the balance of the 10 days of summer league. While Embiid was in Vegas, he was mandated to wear the walking boot in advance of the second surgery, but Embiid not only refused to wear the boot, but he carried himself as if nothing was wrong with the foot, shooting jumpers and even occasionally dunking. These actions have given rise to the theory that Embiid actually re-broke his foot, rather than the initial injury not healing properly. It also led to Embiid having the surgery a month later than the club originally had hoped.
This type of disregard for instruction also extends to Embiid’s dietary habits. Per a source, the Sixers’ training staff was so concerned about what he was eating, they stocked the refrigerator in his downtown hotel residence each week with healthy food. When a staffer went to restock the fridge each week, most everything was uneaten and unopened, and they were throwing out the fruits and vegetables every week. When the team subsequently asked to see Embiid’s room service bill, they found that most days he was ordering junk food along with his signature beverage, a pitcher of Shirley Temples. Embiid also was frequently seen feasting on chicken fingers and hot dogs at and after games.
Is that enough evisceration for you yet? No? OK. We all knew Embiid was having issues, but nothing more than what was stated in the article. We knew his health sucked because he’s injured, and he’s a kid, so Embiid gonna Embiid. Does that mean he can’t mature? Does that mean he can’t lose weight and get in shape? No. But that also is a really, really bad look.
Here’s some more points Geltzeiler makes, this time about the front office, along with Brett Brown, slowly turning on Hinkie’s plan, despite majority owner Joshua Harris still being a advocate for Hinkie
-The decision to trade Michael Carter-Williams may have been too rash, because Hinkie gave up on him rather quickly. Others in the organization still thought MCW could grow as a shooter and become an elite point guard. Michael Preston, the Sixers’ director of public relations, called the reports a “gross mischaracterization of events” that eventually led to the trade.
-Dario Saric’s father doesn’t want his son anywhere near the Sixers organization.
-Hinkie is drafting players that don’t fit the system of what Brett Brown wants to do.
-Speaking of Brown, the league apparently thinks he’s overrated as a coach.
Good times, guys. Good. Times.