The president of the Philadelphia 76ers, Daryl Morey, voiced hope on Friday that Joel Embiid, the current NBA MVP, would recover from his knee injury in time for a potential postseason run.
Before the 76ers played the Atlanta Hawks and three days after Embiid had surgery on his left knee, Morey stated, “We’re hopeful.” Feedback regarding the reasons behind his procedure has been more positive than negative. Thus, we are optimistic and assembling the squad to improve upon last year’s performance. It’s obviously not at full capacity. Joel, though, is playing at an MVP caliber, so maybe he can return to that. And we really do have a chance this year.
When asked if his strategy would have changed in light of Embiid’s injury, Morey was unambiguous.
According to Morey, “I think things would have changed dramatically if Joel hadn’t had hope.” “We’re really optimistic. Of course, it’s not entirely true. This is something that, regrettably, is probably far from perfect. However, we believed it to be the correct decision.
There are numerous ways to lose the competition. Winning a championship is difficult, and one of the main reasons we probably won’t win this year is Joel’s anticipated failure to return to his previous level of play. However, being among the top teams usually requires taking a chance when it comes to injuries, and that’s where we are at the moment.
Embiid has missed the last five games since Golden State forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on his left leg, hurting his meniscus, which required surgery on Tuesday. Embiid has averaged 35.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in 39 games. According to the 76ers’ original report, Embiid would be “re-evaluated” in four weeks. Prior to then, Embiid had missed Philadelphia’s first two games due to swelling in his left knee.
In order to shed light on the severity of Embiid’s injury, Morey refrained to specify the precise treatment that he underwent.
In an attempt to improve Paul Reed as the team’s backup center and take Embiid’s place, Morey stated he failed. He expressed surprise that no “bigs” had been dealt before to the trade deadline.
Rather, Morey acquired Cameron Payne and veteran guard Buddy Hield through separate trades. The two were acquired by Philadelphia as part of four transactions that also featured the departure of forward Marcus Morris Sr., Danuel House, Patrick Beverley, Furkan Kourkmas, and Jaden Springer. Along with sending out four second round picks in those transactions, the 76ers also acquired two back in swaps with Boston and Milwaukee.
Morey stated, “We wanted to add to our playoff rotation this year, but our priority was to get a big.”
Philadelphia’s Hield is expected to be a major 3-point shooting threat, which will help All-Star Tyrese Maxey, who has been targeted by defenses since Embiid’s injury.
It’s going to be a struggle, but we have to win games, Morey stated. However, we had our sights set on the postseason, we knew that our rotation was capable of winning at a very high level, and he was the only player to transfer clubs that would have a significant impact on our rotation. It’s clear what he brings to the table.
Hield and Payne were available for Friday night’s game against the Hawks. A medical condition kept Maxey from moving forward.