Joel Embiid spoke plainly, expressing his frustration with the Sixers’ recent handling of his availability as he continues to recover from an illness.
Philadelphia’s Friday night win over the Minnesota Timberwolves wasn’t an entirely happy affair. After discussing the win, Embiid was asked to revisit the events that led to the confusion around his status in the Sixers’ Wednesday night victory over the Washington Wizards.
“I was pissed off,” Embiid said. “I wanted to play basketball. I wasn't allowed to play basketball. So, I think this is more of a question on Daryl Morey and whoever makes the decisions.
“I think going into Miami, I was pretty sick, but I understood how important the game was, and I still wanted to give us a chance to go out and try to do something because of how important the game was. I felt a little bit better going into Washington, definitely much better than I felt against Miami. Woke up, didn’t sleep until probably, like, five in the morning or six. So, with that, [I] couldn’t make it to shootaround. And then, after that, I found out online that I wasn’t playing that night. So that kind of caught me off guard, and yeah, that pissed me off, but then again, I guess they make the decisions.”
Embiid had publicly challenged the initial report of his absence, which came from Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. Of all days, this happened on April 1, making the entire conversation about Embiid’s availability even more confusing than it would have been otherwise.
Despite Embiid’s public desire to play, his status on the Sixers’ injury report, which came directly from the team and was consistent with Carlin’s report, remained unchanged, and he did not play in the game.
Embiid injury reporting has a complicated history, as he has often had his status in flux before games, and the Sixers have even been fined by the NBA for what the league considered an injury report violation.
The Sixers didn’t need Embiid Wednesday night, but that does not appear to be the point for either the franchise or its star.
“It doesn't matter what I think or not, I just got to follow it,” Embiid continued. “But, to answer your question, that's more of a question for Daryl and them. So, yeah… I don't know what's going on.”
This honest discussion of Embiid’s frustrations is the latest example of a very real disconnect between the two parties that has long been boiling, but is now indisputable.
