Plenty of questions surrounding the Sixers as their present and future could collide in a hurry this offseason.
With another loss in the books, the Sixers are close to clinching the fifth-best NBA Draft lottery odds. If they do keep their first-round pick this season, it will fall in the top six, setting up an interesting collision course between the team’s present and future.
That feels like the tone of this week’s mailbag. Let’s dive right into your questions!
(A couple reminders — I ask for questions every Monday and will hang around the comments, while Bryan Toporek asks for questions every Wednesday.)
Full disclosure that I don’t have any real inside info here, so take my opinion for what it’s worth.
I think the idea of there being “tension” between Embiid and the team is being overblown. Of course there’s going to be “tension” when you’re talking about a player who means so much to the franchise and whose career could be in the balance. The stakes are enormous for the Sixers, but they’re even bigger for Embiid. No decisions are going to be black and white or made lightly.
In a situation like this, surgery has to be the last choice. You do everything you can before making the decision to go under the knife. The Sixers were likely listening to the medical experts who believed over time that the pain and swelling in Embiid’s knee would subside. Obviously frustrated with the constant pain and swelling, Embiid wanted to take the aggressive approach.
In any case, I’m not sure there’s any added tension to what there’s been in the past with Embiid regarding his health decisions. The Sixers are listening to the medical experts. Embiid is doing that but he’s also listening to his body. There are going to be disagreements.
As for the surgery itself, it’s my understanding that an arthroscopic procedure will clean up any scar tissue, something Embiid could very well have after returning to the floor so quickly after his previous surgery. It could also help blood flow and promote healing to the area, hopefully allowing the pain and swelling to subside. It won’t make his knee magically grow more meniscus, but maybe it helps him. He should have a nice, long recovery period ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Washed? No. An All-Star player? I’m not sure. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle.
Context is important here. George hyperextended his knee in the preseason and never seemed to recover from it. His groin/hip issues later in the season were likely results of compensating for his knee. Add his finger issue into the mix — the tear in his pinkie was so bad he couldn’t even straighten it — and George never really stood a chance this season.
I give him credit for trying to play through it all, especially with Embiid missing so much time, but it feels like he would’ve been better served letting his body heal a bit more. There were games where he was pretty ineffective and just looked physically limited.
If you’re looking for a ray of hope, consider George’s month of January — the time before the finger injury occurred and the groin/hip issues seemed to creep up. In nine games, he averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals with 46.8/45.2/93.8 shooting splits.
When healthy, George can still really shoot it, provide complementary playmaking, and help on the glass. Defensively he was still sharp. He averaged 4.0 deflections per game this season, which was a top-five mark in the NBA. The Sixers’ defense was better in the games he played because he’s a great communicator and almost served as a quarterback for the defense.
The issue is health. George is about to turn 35. Can he be healthier than he was this season? The bar is low there. The Sixers don’t need him to play all 82 games, but maybe like 55-60 would be nice. With the influx of young talent the Sixers have, the hope is George will feel less pressure to push through injuries and give the team the optimal version of himself when he does play.
Let me start this by saying I really like Derik Queen. As you mentioned, the passing, ball-handling and overall playmaking ability as a big man are special. He didn’t take many threes in college, but he was 5-of-11 from deep in the conference and NCAA Tournaments. His shot should translate at the next level.
The biggest reason I view Queen as a five in the NBA is defense. He’s listed at 6-foot-10 and 246 pounds. When you watched Maryland this season, it seemed like they tailored their defense to make sure he wasn’t exposed guarding in space. That lack of elite athleticism you referenced is the biggest reason I don’t think he can play the four.
It’s not the cleanest comp, but we’ve seen Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets really struggle to guard against smaller lineups. He’s so gifted offensively and such a strong rebounder that you’ll take your lumps on the other end. If Queen can be insulated by high-level athletes and defenders like the Rockets do with Sengun, that should help Queen thrive.
If we get into a situation where the Sixers draft Queen, I’d view him more as an Embiid backup/replacement than a player who can play with the former MVP.