Could the Philadelphia 76ers actually move Joel Embiid this offseason?
The Philadelphia 76ers' chances of succeeding with their current core hinges greatly on the health of Joel Embiid.
If Embiid is not at full strength come playoff time, the 2025-2026 season illustrated what the outcome is likely to be: a sweep in the second round.
Despite Embiid's unreal level of talent, many are under the impression it's too much of a gamble to bank on the 2023 MVP's availability at this stage of his career. In Bleacher Report's latest NBA power rankings, they urged the 76ers to "seriously consider" trading Embiid.
The positive about moving on from Embiid is it will allow the front office to begin constructing a roster around the backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. Both guards are age 25 and under, so the 76ers would have time to build around them.
There are a few major drawbacks to dealing Embiid, however.
The first is in order to convince a team to take a risk on Embiid, draft capital will need to be included in a trade. For an organization that would be looking to focus their roster on youth, giving up prime selections is far from ideal. If Philadelphia can persuade a team to take on Embiid's contract without including a significant number of picks, it's a much more appealing move.
The second issue is it's rare to have a player of Embiid's talent level on your team. When healthy, Embiid remains arguably the most offensively talented big man in the NBA. He averaged 26.9 points on 48.9% shooting this season but only appeared in 38 games.
Whoever the 76ers land in return for the seven-time All-Star will be nowhere close to as talented as Embiid. For example, a package from the Dallas Mavericks would center around Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford, and PJ Washington.
Ultimately, getting off Embiid's three-year, $187 million contract would be a major step toward rebuilding, but it shouldn't come at the cost of the two issues discussed above.
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