2025 Offseason Free Agency Thread

76ciology · Post #861 » by **76ciology** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 4:45 pm

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

Joel Embiid on his former Sixers teammate

"No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me... if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody ... you lose a lot."

the_process · Post #862 » by **the_process** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:10 pm

76ciology wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

Joel Embiid on his former Sixers teammate

"No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me... if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody ... you lose a lot."

They ask Embiid about the team meeting where he got called out, and he says he knows who the leaker is and now he has no trust in team meetings. They ask him if the leaker is still on the team and he says they might be.

So, let's assume the rumors are true and Eric Gordon was the leaker. Morey should know about that situation, should know Embiid's personality isn't going to react well, right? Yet he brings back Gordon. Why? You might think this is not a big deal but this is the guy they still promote as the franchise player. So why try to piss him off even unintentionally?

Is Morey oblivious, doesn't care, or doesn't even recognize players as people?

Does Joshy know about this stuff?
Does he care between (and this is rhetorical, the answer is no) the Devils and Crystal Palace and the "Commanders"?

The dysfunction runs so deep here it's astounding.

Mik317 · Post #863 » by **Mik317** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:24 pm

The stuff about how they constantly botched his rehab is more annoying than the team meeting leak imo

just comes off as a terribly ran franchise...i mean they had a **** intern running it at one point.

Post #864 » by **Stanford** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:40 pm

the_process wrote:Yet he brings back Gordon. Why?

Player option.

Negrodamus · Post #865 » by **Negrodamus** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:44 pm

the_process · Post #866 » by **the_process** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:42 pm

Stanford wrote:
the_process wrote:Yet he brings back Gordon. Why?

Player option.

Well played.

He should been waived after the incident. Or traded at the deadline. Or told sorry not sorry when he opted out to sign the new minimum. Or waived right now.

sixerguy · Post #867 » by **sixerguy** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:56 pm

76ciology wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

Joel Embiid on his former Sixers teammate

"No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me... if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody ... you lose a lot."

wow big surprise

On the Sixers playing the Pistons for the first time last season,

"Tobias Harris: I'm excited to see Tyrese Maxey that's about it."

Read on Twitter

Jailblazers7 · Post #868 » by **Jailblazers7** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:57 pm

Mik317 wrote:The stuff about how they constantly botched his rehab is more annoying than the team meeting leak imo

just comes off as a terribly ran franchise...i mean they had a **** intern running it at one point.

100% that was crazy lol the chaos during the first half of his career is on Harris & the org. Idk what the health & training staff looks like now but those details are embarrassing as hell.

For the leak stuff, I frankly don’t give a sh*t. Embiid got called out for bad behavior, something that he been doing for a decade apparently. His energy appears to be more focused on the leaker than changing his behavior which is a major red flag imo.

phillynative · Post #869 » by **phillynative** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:12 pm

Maybe, just maybe...

sixerguy · Post #870 » by **sixerguy** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:39 pm

76ciology wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

Joel Embiid on his former Sixers teammate

"No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me... if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody ... you lose a lot."

"Since we got him, everybody expected the Houston James Harden," Embiid said. "But that's not who he is anymore. He's more of a playmaker. I thought, at times, he could have been, as all of us could have been, more aggressive. "

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33908012/joel-embiid-says-james-harden-philadelphia-76ers-need-more-aggressive-toughen-order-break-through

youngcrev · Post #871 » by **youngcrev** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:58 pm

sixerguy wrote:
76ciology wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

Joel Embiid on his former Sixers teammate

"No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me... if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody ... you lose a lot."

"Since we got him, everybody expected the Houston James Harden," Embiid said. "But that's not who he is anymore. He's more of a playmaker. I thought, at times, he could have been, as all of us could have been, more aggressive. "

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33908012/joel-embiid-says-james-harden-philadelphia-76ers-need-more-aggressive-toughen-order-break-through

Huh? Literally nothing to do with it.

Iscull · Post #872 » by **Iscull** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:14 pm

the_process wrote:
76ciology wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

Joel Embiid on his former Sixers teammate

"No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me... if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody ... you lose a lot."

They ask Embiid about the team meeting where he got called out, and he says he knows who the leaker is and now he has no trust in team meetings. They ask him if the leaker is still on the team and he says they might be.

So, let's assume the rumors are true and Eric Gordon was the leaker. Morey should know about that situation, should know Embiid's personality isn't going to react well, right? Yet he brings back Gordon. Why? You might think this is not a big deal but this is the guy they still promote as the franchise player. So why try to piss him off even unintentionally?

Is Morey oblivious, doesn't care, or doesn't even recognize players as people?

Does Joshy know about this stuff?
Does he care between (and this is rhetorical, the answer is no) the Devils and Crystal Palace and the "Commanders"?

The dysfunction runs so deep here it's astounding.

EG had a Player Option, which he was going to excercise. Morey asked him to decline and gave him his word that he would re-sign to save cap space.

If Morey didn't resign EG after he declined his option, he would lose a lot of credibility.

Post #873 » by **Ben** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 11:04 pm

Bradley Beal getting bought out and joining the Clips for nothing... doesn't seem fair. Oh well, at least it's not the Lakers.

Post #874 » by **Stanford** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 11:24 pm

Beal makes them worse. This isn't an issue.

the_process · Post #875 » by **the_process** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 12:34 am

Iscull wrote:
the_process wrote:
76ciology wrote:https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45747447/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-star-sees-you

They ask Embiid about the team meeting where he got called out, and he says he knows who the leaker is and now he has no trust in team meetings. They ask him if the leaker is still on the team and he says they might be.

So, let's assume the rumors are true and Eric Gordon was the leaker. Morey should know about that situation, should know Embiid's personality isn't going to react well, right? Yet he brings back Gordon. Why? You might think this is not a big deal but this is the guy they still promote as the franchise player. So why try to piss him off even unintentionally?

Is Morey oblivious, doesn't care, or doesn't even recognize players as people?

Does Joshy know about this stuff?
Does he care between (and this is rhetorical, the answer is no) the Devils and Crystal Palace and the "Commanders"?

The dysfunction runs so deep here it's astounding.

EG had a Player Option, which he was going to excercise. Morey asked him to decline and gave him his word that he would re-sign to save cap space.

If Morey didn't resign EG after he declined his option, he would lose a lot of credibility.

What credibility is that?

Post #876 » by **Ben** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 1:40 am

Stanford wrote:Beal makes them worse. This isn't an issue.

I don't see that at all. He's still a very good shooter and averaged 60% TS over the past three seasons. Presumably he'll be the Norman Powell replacement. I always liked Powell in spite of the trash talking about him here, and I think he did a lot better there in the past couple of years than many folks seemed to anticipate. Fit in well with Harden and Leonard. They got John Collins for Powell and now they have their Powell type of player back again. Seems like a pretty good move to me.

ProcessDoctor · Post #877 » by **ProcessDoctor** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:06 am

Harden/Dunn
Beal/Bogdonavic
Kawhi/Jones
Collins/Batum
Zubac/Lopez

That's a lethal rotation.

Iverson Armband · Post #878 » by **Iverson Armband** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:19 am

Every year the Clippers are hyped, and every year they do squat. As long as Harden is running the show, I guarantee there is nothing to see here.

76ciology · Post #879 » by **76ciology** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:31 am

I ask him in what ways he is responsible for being misunderstood.

"Go through all the media narratives," Embiid says. "I haven't been paying attention. So, I don't know what's happened."

He's kidding, of course. I'm expecting him to smile any second now.

But he doesn't. Instead, he repeats himself, his voice more urgent: "Go through the narratives."

Joel makes excuses.

"It's not making excuses. When you're hurt every year and everybody knows it, it's the truth," he says. "Now, do you believe, if he was 100 percent, does he have what it takes to have a chance at winning? I think a lot of people believe that because I've shown it in the regular season when I was healthy."

Now, he's the one leaning forward.

"What if I did this and I was like, 'You know what? I'm just going to chill all season and coast and average 25? Or 20.' And in the playoffs, I go average 30. Would that make me look great? Probably. If I went from averaging 23 to 30 -- a playoff riser. Oh, my God. Joel Jordan. Whatever.

"The Brooklyn series two years ago is a perfect example. Double me everywhere. Half court, as soon as I had the ball, that coach was like, 'Go get it.' And guess what? I was fine with it because we kicked the ball out, we made shots, and we won. But guess what it did? It lowered the stats.

"So, if that's the narrative that's out there, I'm OK with that because I know what I'm going through and I know what's going on. And no one is in my body to understand what I'm going through."

"What other narratives?" he asks.

Joel cares too much about individual awards.

"If you are in a position to win an MVP, I don't care who you are, you're going after it because I never believed I would be in this position, first of all. Second of all, when I got in the league, I thought, 'Yeah, maybe I'll have a chance to be a great defensive player.' I never thought I was going to be this good offensively."

His thoughts drift back to the playoffs, irritated: "You're basically saying that he's playing harder in the regular season than he's playing in the playoffs, which doesn't make sense because if you look at the minutes, the minutes rise. And you're playing harder. And you do more on both ends of the floor."

He takes a detour into his postseason plus/minus numbers, which measure up with the greats of the game, then chides himself for sounding like his trainer and confidant, Drew Hanlen, who 13 minutes into a phone call sent me a link to Embiid's playoff stats.

"You want one more?" I ask.

"Yeah, I want it," he says.

Joel is talented but doesn't have the extra intangible stuff it takes to lead.

"No one is a winner until they've done it. I'm fine with that narrative because I haven't done it. Charles Barkley, great player, right? But he never won. [Allen Iverson] never won. ... But that doesn't mean they weren't great. They were amazing.

"Everybody leads in his own way. I lead on the court," Embiid continues. "Over the years, you also grow, and you learn a lot. If you ask my teammates now, they'll tell you a way different story than my teammates a couple years ago, because years ago, I was nowhere to be found."

"Why?" I ask.

"I don't know," he says, briefly leaving the battle against his critics to look inward. "I think it goes back to how I was raised. I don't want to say, lonely but I came to the States, I was alone. I always taught myself to not trust anybody."

Post #880 » by **Stanford** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 12:24 pm

Ben wrote:
Stanford wrote:Beal makes them worse. This isn't an issue.

I don't see that at all. He's still a very good shooter and averaged 60% TS over the past three seasons. Presumably he'll be the Norman Powell replacement. I always liked Powell in spite of the trash talking about him here, and I think he did a lot better there in the past couple of years than many folks seemed to anticipate. Fit in well with Harden and Leonard. They got John Collins for Powell and now they have their Powell type of player back again. Seems like a pretty good move to me.

Has never scared me and never will.