It appears that some in the Philadelphia 76ers organization have had their trust in The Process shaken in recent months - and driving that uncertainty is a growing frustration with their third overall pick in 2014, Joel Embiid.
Embiid, who's yet to step on the floor for the 76ers, is staring at a second consecutive lost season to begin his career. While part of that can be chalked up to bad luck - he's now had to undergo two surgeries to deal with a right foot fracture - there's reportedly a nagging sense within the front office that Embiid himself is the problem.
Sports Illustrated's Brian Geltzeiler reported the details on Friday:
Embiid's lax approach to his rehab and the circumstances surrounding the second foot surgery he needed this past summer - which appears like it will cost him the entire 2015-16 season - has caused the organization much anxiety. The simple task of getting Embiid to consistently wear his walking boot was a challenge for the franchise, and multiple sources suggested that some people in Philadelphia’s front office wonder whether a second surgery would have been necessary if Embiid had worn the boot as much as he was told to.
Reports of Embiid's attitude and work ethic issues first surfaced in January, when he was sent home from a team road trip following a spat with strength and conditioning coach James Davis, amid concerns over his weight and fitness. Geltzeiler reported that Embiid physically threatening Davis was "the tipping point" in the Sixers' decision to send the rookie home.
Another point of contention between player and team was his diet. A source told Geltzeiler that the Sixers' training staff went so far as to stock Embiid's hotel fridge with fruits and vegetables every week, only to return each time and find the uneaten produce gone bad. Embiid's room-service bill reportedly showed he'd been ordering junk food, including "his signature beverage, a pitcher of Shirley Temples."
When the Sixers drafted Embiid, they already knew he'd likely miss his entire rookie season because of the foot injury. But given Embiid's considerable talent and upside, and where the Sixers were at in their multi-year tanking project, the sacrifice was negligible - much as it had been when they'd taken Nerlens Noel sixth overall in 2013, knowing he had a torn ACL. If Embiid couldn't play right away, that was fine in the club's eyes; Philadelphia would be a worse team without him, and have that much higher a chance at nabbing yet another future star in the next draft.
They got that chance, indeed, and they used it to draft another talented big in Jahlil Okafor. Now, with Noel - who's coming off an impressive rookie campaign - and Okafor in the fray, plus draft-and-stash prospect Dario Saric in Europe (it's possible Saric won't join the team until 2017), the Philadelphia frontcourt is about to get very crowded.
While the Sixers don't appear to be giving up on Embiid just yet, it looks as though they're preparing for the possibility of moving their rebuild forward without him.
