'The Guy to Watch!': Has Knicks' Joel Embiid Case Gotten Stronger?
James Harden led the NBA in assists this season. He might have one more ... and this one helping the New York Knicks make a major core.
With Harden's future with the Philadelphia 76ers in question after a new report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the aftershocks of his potential departure could push newly-minted NBA MVP Joel Embiid to the New York Knicks. Quoting Keith Pompey, the Inquirer insider who shared the Harden rumor on Twitter, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News said that not only is there true traction behind the potential union between Embiid and the Knicks, but gears in such a machine have been rotating for some time.
"(I've) been told since midseason that Joel Embiid is the guy to watch for the Knicks," Bondy said. "Philly's playoff flameout only intensified that belief."
Embiid joined the Sixers as the third pick of the 2014 draft and has served as the magnum opus of Philadelphia's quest to "trust the process." To that end, the team has made six consecutive playoff appearances, the third-longest tally in the modern Association. None of those trips, however, has advanced beyond the conference semifinal round and the most recent, a seven-game loss to the Boston Celtics, led to the firing of third-year head coach Doc Rivers.
Embiid is due over $150 million in guarantees before a $58.1 million player option in 2026-27. Bondy admits that potential bartering with the divisional rival 76ers would be "very complicated" and "require many things to happen that are not in Knicks control." The rumors will likely only intensify as the offseason carries on, more or less forcing Knicks fans to keep an eye on transactional affairs in both New York and abroad.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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