This wild Philadelphia 76ers trade proposal has Joel Embiid seeing a change of scenery.
Whether or not they want to be, the Philadelphia 76ers (23-19) are likely stuck with All-Star center Joel Embiid.
This is because of his three-year, $188 million contract extension that runs through the 2028-2029 season combined with a brutal history of injuries. Although it's worth noting Embiid has already appeared in more games this season (23) than he did in the 2024-2025 campaign (19).
Despite the lucrative salary and inability to stay on the floor, CBS Sports' Sam Quinn believes one Western Conference team may be desperate enough to take a chance on Embiid. Quinn pitched the following trade idea between the 76ers, Golden State Warriors, and Chicago Bulls:
Warriors receive: Joel Embiid, Quentin Grimes
76ers receive: Jimmy Butler, Nikola Vučević, Gary Payton II
Bulls receive: Buddy Hield, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, four second-round picks (via 76ers)
It's quite obvious why the Warriors agree to this deal, which is that they're desperate to contend for another championship with Stephen Curry leading the charge. At age 37, Curry is running out of years in the league, and Golden State's front office wants to take advantage of every season it has with the 11-time All-Star.
Curry is showing little signs of slowing down, as he is averaging 27.1 points and 5.1 assists on 46.8% shooting and 38.7% shooting from three-point range in 35 appearances. If (and it's a big if) Embiid is able to remain healthy, he and Curry could certainly make some noise even in the loaded Western Conference.
It's a bit tougher to understand why the 76ers would accept this trade. Quinn justifies Philadelphia's end of the move, writing, "Philadelphia's motives are different from Golden State's. With Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, they have a real future to build on. Embiid's long-term contract is standing in the way of that... They'd be turning the page on the Process era once and for all."
Butler recently suffered a torn ACL, so Philadelphia would be getting little to no production from him before his contract expires after the 2026-2027 season. Vucevic is a solid starting center for the Bulls but cannot compare anywhere close to a healthy Embiid. The positive news regarding him is his contract expires after this season, so the front office could get off his salary quite quickly.
If the opportunity to offload Embiid's contract presents itself, some would argue the 76ers accept the deal in a heartbeat. Others are not giving up on the 31-year-old and believe his progression in recent weeks is a sign of positive things to come.
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