The Philadelphia 76ers have been busy following their second-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks (4-0).
The franchise parted ways with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey after six seasons and announced it would keep head coach Nick Nurse in the fold amid rumors of a potential firing.
While a long shot, the Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reported that there’s a chance the next move they make is replacing longtime center Joel Embiid with a three-time All-Star forward.
“One longshot scenario that does get mentioned by rival team strategists is an Embiid-for-Domantas Sabonis swap with Sacramento, but even longshot might be underselling it,” Fischer wrote Wednesday.
“Both former All-Star big men could probably use a fresh start, but there's just no getting around the fact that Embiid, at 32, seems incapable of holding up for a deep playoff run. Which certainly shortens the list of potential suitors.”
Sabonis, like Embiid, could certainly benefit from a change of scenery in his early 30s. The Gonzaga product has spent the last 4.5 seasons with the Kings. While he’s been impressive from an individual performance standpoint, he’s only enjoyed one playoff appearance with the Western Conference franchise.
This season, Sabonis poured in 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds on a Kings squad that only mustered 22 regular-season wins. While Embiid has enjoyed more postseason success, he’s yet to reach the Eastern Conference Finals and has struggled to remain healthy lately.
The 32-year-old’s health concerns could ultimately scare the Kings off, and it’d been difficult to blame them. Embiid has dealt with several lower-body ailments with the 76ers, causing him to miss extended time on the hardwood.
The same would likely occur with the Kings, explaining why Fischer categorized the Embiid-Sabonis swap idea as a long shot. Still, it’s clearly a concept with some legs, making it wise to monitor it throughout the offseason.
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