With Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden wanting out of Philly, the question now is will Sixers guard Joel Embiid be the next player to request a trade?
Speculation first emerged that Embiid may not stay with the Sixers when he made the following comments at the UNINTERRUPTED Film Festival in July. “I just wanna win a championship. Whatever it takes. I don’t know where that’s gonna be. Whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else. I just wanna have a chance to accomplish that. I wanna see what it feels like to win that first one and think about the next one. It’s not easy, but it takes more than one or two or three guys.”
Sixers beat reporter Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer shared the sentiment that Embiid may wish to be traded. “The thing with Joel Embiid is I think it all depends on how this thing plays out. I think we’re naive to think that Joel isn’t paying attention to what’s going on, just like everyone else. When you look at this season, and we saw how the Sixers have now lost three consecutive times in the second round, five of Embiid’s six playoff appearances ended in the second round.” per Michael Sotto of Hoops Hype
“I do feel like Embiid could ask to go elsewhere because of that. I think Embiid wants to be a 76er and end his career here, but at the same time, everybody wants to win championships, and they want to go to a place that’s going to enable them to do that.”
Joel Embiid is coming off one of his best seasons in the NBA after winning the MVP award. He has played his entire career with the Sixers who drafted him in 2014. While it's understandable if he wants a better chance at a title, a trade would leave Sixers fans devastated.