Why the 76ers need to seriously consider trading Joel Embiid

The core of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey isn't enough to contend with the top teams in the conference, especially when they can't play enough games together to get the team high enough in the standings in an effort to make a playoff run easier.  

Embiid can't get on the court enough to earn his money 

So if the 76ers are likely going to be stuck in a constant state of purgatory and the odds of Embiid ever being able to play anything close to a full season - he's been available for fewer than 40 games in three-straight years, the only option left is to deal him while he still has some value. To further put his lack of availability in perspective, Embiid's career-high for games played is 68, and he's only hit 60 games four times in 10 years. 

Embiid is currently in the midst of a contract extension he signed in 2024 that pays him an annual salary of about $62 million and makes his total earnings for the deal around $300 million. As is, Embiid's deal keeps him in Philadelphia through the 2028-29 season. 

76ers' best shot at a deep run with Embiid came seven years ago

It's becoming clear that the peak for the 76ers with Embiid was watching Kawhi Leonard hit an improbable shot as the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors moved past Philadelphia and advanced to the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. The 76ers have never been as close to even a conference finals appearance with Embiid since. And in fact, have never advanced beyond the second round throughout his entire tenure. 

It's time the 76ers cut their losses and use any value for Embiid to rebuild

So now seven years removed from Leonard's shot, it's time the 76ers, granted a whole new management group and roster from the one that felt that heartache against Toronto, realize that continuing the insanity of paying Embiid big bucks to barely play and not impact winning when he does for three more seasons won't benefit the franchise in the long run. It will just keep Philadelphia stuck in neutral for the foreseeable future. 

The only way to change the franchise's destiny is to finally cut their losses, acquire more top picks and attempt to save money to use on other players, all while building around Maxey, the budding star forced to carry the load as his veteran co-stars stacked more missed games than points.