The impact that James Harden‘s standoff with the Sixers might have on star teammate Joel Embiid has been an ongoing subplot this offseason as the Harden saga drags on. Speaking to reporters on Monday for the first time this fall, Embiid was asked if he feels the need to put public pressure on his team’s front office to make a move, the way Giannis Antetokounmpo did this summer in Milwaukee.
“It’s tricky. I think it could go both ways,” Embiid said (Twitter video link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “… (The Sixers front office decision-makers) get paid to make those decisions, so that’s why I leave it up to them. If they want my opinion, maybe I give it, but I trust (them). Any team that I’m on, I’m still going to believe that I have a chance to win, no matter who’s on the roster. And we’ve got a lot of great players. I’m happy with what we have.”
Embiid went on to say that he thinks Tyrese Maxey could be primed to make a leap this season and that the Harden situation will “hopefully” be resolved soon.
“If he’s here, we love him and we want him to be with us, and I think we have a better team with him on the floor,” Embiid said. “And I think he knows it too, so hopefully that gets resolved. If that doesn’t (get resolved), it doesn’t change the goal, it doesn’t change anything. The goal is still to go out there and try to win a championship.”
Here’s more from the Sixers’ media day:
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