Just eight days earlier, the potential of these Philadelphia 76ers was on full display — they had vanquished their heated rivals from Boston in seven games, sending the Eastern Conference betting favorites home for the summer. The young backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe had been fantastic, Paul George was healthy and making big contributions, and a dominant Joel Embiid in the paint made the difference. The vibes could not have been better.
Sunday, the vibes around the 76ers could not have been much worse after they were dominated by the Knicks and swept out of the playoffs. Philadelphia lost the four games in the series by an average of 22.5 points per game (including an ugly 30-point blowout in Game 4 that felt over after the first quarter). Joel Embiid missed a game due to injury and could not push around the Knicks frontcourt like he did the Celtics, and when the Maxey/Edgecombe backcourt was off, as it was in Game 4, things fell apart fast.
Now everything in Philadelphia is under a microscope — including the jobs of team president Daryl Morey and coach Nick Nurse, [something Tony Jones detailed at The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7235183/2026/05/11/sixers-joel-embiid-nick-nurse-daryl-morey-future/).
_The jobs of Morey and head coach Nick Nurse are expected to be evaluated entering the offseason, multiple league sources told The Athletic. As of Sunday’s elimination, team sources said ownership has not made final decisions on either and is likely to take a few days to assess before making any major calls..._
_“Internally, the volatility of this year cannot be ignored heading into the offseason. From a tumultuous trade deadline to late-season frustrations between players and coaches that nearly derailed a shootaround, tension simmered throughout the year. On many nights, the team barely knew who would be available.”_
The report details tensions between Embiid and the front office, and the frustration that the only move made at the trade deadline was to send away Jared McCain to get under the salary cap (Philly did get the No. 17 pick in this upcoming draft as well, but that’s not helping Embiid on the court this season). McCain has thrived in Oklahoma City, including scoring 18 off the bench in a playoff game against the Lakers.
Then there was the tension around whether Embiid would play on April 1 on the road in Washington — Embiid expected to play, the team listed him as out, and the following meeting almost derailed the entire shootaround that day, Jones reports. (Embiid did not play that night.)
All of this was just part of the drama in Philadelphia this season. As Joel Embiid put it:
_“So, we just gotta get better from top to bottom. Ownership, players, coaches, everybody just has to get better.”_
That has to start with Embiid — he played in 38 games this season and, while he rushed back from an appendectomy to be on the court for the playoffs, still missed a game against the Knicks. Embiid hasn’t played in six straight games since December of 2023.
Philadelphia has to decide what to do with a very expensive player who is still elite when he is on the court but can’t be counted on to play consistently, even in the playoffs. While the logical step may be to pivot and get younger, building around Maxey (the team’s clear best player now) and Edgecombe, it’s not that simple — Embiid is almost untradable. He is guaranteed $188.3 million over the next three seasons (the last one is technically a player option, but he’s going to pick that up or want to be extended off of it). Paul George is guaranteed $54.1 million next season and has a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28. Because of the health concerns around both of them, the only way to trade the 76ers veterans is to add first-round draft picks or young players as sweeteners in any deal — and it would take more than one pick.
All of that means this core is likely the 76ers core again next season, and likely at least one more after that. If Embiid can’t play consistently, how good can the 76ers really be?
That question may fall to a new coach and head of basketball operations, because owner Josh Harris is stepping back and looking at everything.
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