The Philadelphia 76ers had a great first round of the playoffs, rallying to upset the Boston Celtics.
The second round didn't go as well. The New York Knicks swept Philly in dominant fashion, ending the season for the 76ers and their star center Joel Embiid.
Embiid stayed healthy for long stretches this season, aside from the unfortunately timed need to remove his appendix.
Despite that, the 76ers didn't reach a higher mountaintop than ones they've climbed to in the past, and Embiid apparently isn't all that happy.
One move upsetting Embiid? The Jared McCain trade.
The 76ers traded the second-year guard to the Oklahoma City Thunder before the trade deadline. McCain has thrived with OKC, and he wasn't a player the 76ers necessarily needed to get rid of.
Tony Jones of The Athletic explained more of Embiid's feelings like this in a new article:
“As the season progressed, it became clear the star center didn’t see eye-to-eye with the front office and the coaching staff. In the days before the February trade deadline, he implored the front office to do something other than what he termed ‘ducking the (luxury) tax.’ As such, he — along with others in the locker room — were not happy with the decision to trade second-year guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder, particularly without bringing in a player to replace McCain. In interviews over the next few games, Embiid noticeably had to hold himself back from verbally criticizing the front office.”
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Embiid isn't necessarily wrong to dislike the McCain trade. Lots of basketball folks thought it was a questionable move.
The potentially more pivotal part of this is whether Embiid's discontent shapes his future. Will he ask out?
He's got a contract that would be really tough to trade, but that wouldn't stop him from making things very difficult on Philly if he wants to go that route.
It'll be a narrative worth watching this offseason, for sure.
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