Joel Embiid looks light, sounds optimistic about his new teammates and Sixers’ chances
Embiid, who has missed most of the last three seasons, says he wants to play "as much as possible" following an offseason where he got rested and healthy.
At the end of last season, Joel Embiid was optimistic about what a summer without a major injury could do for the Sixers heading into next year.
So, what did he spend his summer doing?
“Nothing,” he said with a smirk. “Gained a lot of weight.”
Embiid looked up toward the ceiling and debated whether he wanted to keep trolling when asked for further clarification about his summer.
“I feel good,” Embiid said Monday. “I won’t get into all the details of what I did, but I felt like I did the right things to put myself and the team in a position to succeed.”
Contrary to his jokes, he looked visibly lighter and said he wants to play “as much as possible” this season after struggling with injuries on and off through his entire NBA career. He said his knee issues were “behind him.”
“Jo is one of the most talented guys we have in the world,” LeBron James said. “For him, it’s just about health.”
» READ MORE: Why did LeBron James choose the Sixers? A phone call from Tyrese Maxey certainly helped.
Embiid might have kept his summer purposefully low-profile, but the Sixers did anything but, trading for Brown and signing LeBron. Commenting for the first time on the moves, Embiid could barely hold in a laugh while saying that he “didn’t talk” to LeBron as part of the recruiting process.
The trade for Jaylen Brown was a bit “bittersweet,” due to the personal relationship between Embiid and Paul George, and the relationship between Embiid’s son Arthur and George’s son Paul.
But adding a player of Brown’s caliber provided a needed shakeup to a Sixers roster.
“I was excited because you’re getting a guy – first team All-NBA,” Embiid said. “The job he did, especially when [Jayson Tatum] was hurt, was huge, obviously we played against him, but what he brings on the defensive, offensive end … to be able to add that, combining that with everything he does on and off the court, I think he’s going to be good for the city of Philadelphia.”
This is perhaps his most talented group of teammates yet, thanks to the additions of Brown and James alongside Tyrese Maxey. But the Sixers have had other stars during Embiid’s tenure, including James Harden, Jimmy Butler, and Paul George.
Embiid said he didn’t want to characterize those previous star experiments as “not working out,” despite the lack of playoff success. He has preached for years that a big reason for the Sixers’ struggles even with talented rosters is the lack of consistency.
“Like Jimmy, we only had for half a year,” Embiid said. “Some things could have happened to build on that, but we didn’t.”
But Embiid thinks these Sixers have the right mix of youth, with Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, and veteran experience. He wants to start fast and get as much practice time as possible with this group. Some of that has already happened, with Maxey and James’ close training partnership.
“It’s hard to win, man,” Embiid said. “You need that consistency, you need to get guys on the same page. I feel like this year, we have that.”
