A few reports this week touched on Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
One, from the Philadelphia Inquirer, stated that the Knicks were willing to package three key players and two or three first-round picks in exchange for Embiid.
Then Bleacher Report noted on Wednesday that Embiid "has experienced a fair share of upheaval with the Sixers. Rival teams are keeping a close eye on how much more he's willing to endure."
In late July, SNY reported that Embiid had a conversation with team president Daryl Morey in which he reiterated his commitment to winning – and retiring -- in Philadelphia.
Given the recent reports, I checked in to see if anything noted in that article had changed.
Per people familiar with the matter, nothing has changed. Those people reiterated that the organization believes Embiid is committed to competing for a title with the Sixers and finishing his career in Philadelphia.
They added that, in general, Philadelphia was unmoved by the reported package for Embiid.
“They didn’t take it seriously,” one person said of the Sixers, and some close to Embiid, in reference to the proposed package.
(The package of players and picks reported by The Inquirer was not independently confirmed by SNY)
The Knicks own all of their future first-round picks. They also have four additional first-rounders via trade (though most are lottery-protected). So New York has ample draft capital to offer in potential trades.
Any discussion of an Embiid trade is a waste of time until he requests a trade from the organization.
Even if Embiid were to request a trade, it would be difficult for him to force his way to a specific team.
Embiid is in the first season of a four-year, $213 million contract. He has a player option in the final year of that contract.
As we saw with the Damian Lillard trade, a disgruntled star with multiple years remaining on their contract doesn’t always get traded to their desired location.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Until and unless Embiid requests a trade from Philadelphia, anything about Embiid and the Knicks is irrelevant.