LeBron James Quickly Puts Joel Embiid Rumor to Bed

When you’re trying to build a championship team, there has to be some kind of accountability. When the Philadelphia 76ers brought in LeBron James, the expectation was that he would help this team any way he could if it meant bringing a championship to Philadelphia.

The 76ers held a practice session, and everyone showed up on time for practice, well, everyone except for one person, Joel Embiid, or at least that’s what Mike Breen claimed during the broadcast of their preseason game. 

According to other reports and James himself, this was a false report.  However, no one is exempt from being scorned, not even a seven-time all-star like Embiid. This isn’t a knock on Embiid, nor is it to say he’s lazy and doesn’t care about this team. But we're in a new era here in Philadelphia, and slacking off just won’t cut it. 

Embiid has been the face of this team, and at times he’s kind of moved to the beat of his own drum. When Tyrese Maxey called out Embiid last season after a 2-11 start, stating that he’s made a bad habit of being late to meetings. It’s something that followed the team and turned the media into a frenzy in the process. So even if Embiid was late, it wouldn’t be uncharacteristic of him. 

This season, there won’t be any of that. James won’t allow it. James takes too much pride in his craft to let that happen. This team has set its sights on new goals, and James is here to make sure they adhere to that kind of detail.  Some players have been very vocal about building chemistry, and that includes telling someone when they are in the wrong.  There are plenty of leaders on this team, and they won’t hold anything back if it means making this team better for the long haul.

There are only a few players on the team that know what it’s like to win a championship. Not only that, this franchise hasn’t really had someone on the team that’s willing to be the outspoken leader and call people out. So now having multiple players like that is the kind of thing that helps push this team to new heights. 

Having structure is important, and it’ll be a new thing for many players, and it’s what they need. James and Brown didn’t come here to be mediocre, and they aren’t going to start now with a prime opportunity like this at their fingertips. If yelling at the star player does anything, it’ll get everyone to understand the assignment, and it may just get everyone on the same page in the process.