Will Joel Embiid Force His Way Out Of Philadelphia?

The 76ers were promptly swept out of the first round of the playoffs. A lot of finger pointing is going around. It’s only a matter of time before Brett Brown gets whacked. Elton Brand should get whacked. Where does that leave star center Joel Embiid? Will Embiid ever get so frustrated to the point where he forces his way out of Philly?

Brian Windhorst of ESPN had a story today. His notes were interesting to say the least:

With coach Brett Brown’s job status in question, Joel Embiid wondered about his future with the Philadelphia 76ers after they were swept out of the NBA playoffs in a 110-106 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

“I don’t make the decisions. I’m here in Philly. Whatever happens, happens,” said Embiid, responding to a question about uncertainty with the franchise. “I’ve always said that I want to end my career here, and if it happens, good. If it doesn’t happen, well, you move on and all that stuff.”

Embiid has said over and over that he wants to end his career in Philadelphia. I believe him. However, there’s a reason why Windhorst wrote this story. Embiid said one line a lot in the exit interview. “I’m not the GM”. He’s clearly frustrated with the decisions that the front office has made.

“I can be dominant down low, but then again, to help the team, it’s not always about me,” said Embiid, who led the 76ers on Sunday with 30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 4 of this Eastern Conference first-round series. “And with the roster we have and — if it is the same roster next year — I gotta be able to space the floor.”

“I just feel like, a couple years ago, when we made the playoffs for the first time, we had a bunch of great players that were drafted here or either formed in Philly and we had a bunch of guys especially that were in a great situation,” Embiid said.

“And then we, as you know, we decided to trade a lot of it with the picks and stuff for Jimmy [Butler], Tobias [Harris], and we got a bunch of great players in return. Like I said, it just didn’t happen. We could never find a rhythm this year. It is disappointing. There’s a lot of regrets. I felt like the focus was not always there. And we got to do better; we just got to look at ourselves in the mirror and just do better.”

Changes are going to be made in Philly. When I say changes I mean roster changes too. They can’t bring this same group back. Something has to give. If anybody is going to make a major trade this offseason, it’s the 76ers.