The Philadelphia 76ers seem to be coming to the end of an era, and Joel Embiid is definitely looking back with some regrets.
Embiid seemed to question some of the organization’s roster moves over the past couple seasons after the Sixers' loss to Boston on Sunday. Embiid suggested that trades for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris might have upset Philly's chemistry.
“I just feel like, a couple years ago, when we made the playoffs for the first time, we had a bunch of great players that were drafted here or either formed in Philly and we had a bunch of guys especially that were in a great situation,” Embiid said, via Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“And then we, as you know, we decided to trade a lot of it with the picks and stuff for Jimmy [Butler], Tobias [Harris], and we got a bunch of great players in return. Like I said, it just didn’t happen. We could never find a rhythm this year. It is disappointing. There’s a lot of regrets. I felt like the focus was not always there. And we got to do better; we just got to look at ourselves in the mirror and just do better.”
The Sixers traded the likes of Dario Saric, Robert Covington and Landry Shamet for Butler and Harris. None is a superstar, but all are useful role players.
This only strengthens the argument that something just isn’t right in Philadelphia. It’s likely to cost coach Brett Brown his job. It could also lead to significant changes to the roster, which could even include Embiid.
The 26-year-old center was dismissive of questions about the Sixers’ internal issues. His words here indicate that there is more than meets the eye.
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