Those New York Knicks fans looking to adjust their Charlie Ward/Wilson Chandler/Cam Reddish jersey for Joel Embiid may want to put the duct tape and magic marker away for the time being.
In his latest newsletter on Substack, NBA insider Marc Stein indirectly advised Knicks fans to curb their enthusiasm for landing the current Philadelphia 76er. Stein said that "there are no legs to" any such deal, calling it "strictly media chatter."
In his first statement, though, Stein kept the door open, remarking that there's no traction "yet." Knicks fans perhaps know all about the cruel length of the offseason, as Donovan Mitchell's metropolitan arrival felt quite assured this time last year, though they're probably not complaining about how that situation panned out, at least for the time being.
The Knicks are pegged by some to be major beneficiaries if their divisional rivals from The City of Brotherly Love opt for a full-on reboot in the wake of another second-round loss, their third in a row. Philadelphia has already fired head coach Doc Rivers after three seasons and there's already doubt that James Harden will return for a second full season (some foreseeing a return to Houston) and those prognosticators believe moving Embiid would be the next action if Harden were to depart.
New York and Philadelphia have been eliminated from the NBA Playoffs for nearly two weeks now, and the Association's full offseason technically hasn't even started yet. But the Embiid rumor mill is already at full strength and will likely only get faster come the summer.
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