Trysta Krick joins Liberty Ballers for a podcast putting a fork in one hideous 2025 for the Sixers — and the NBA analyst doesn’t sound too optimistic about their future either.
Liberty Ballers interviewed basketball analyst and sports comedy personality, Trysta Krick. The host of ‘The Heat Check with Trysta Krick,’ goes ALL IN on some of the ways things have fallen apart for the Sixers from Joel Embiid’s health and contract extension, to Daryl Morey’s biggest weakness as a GM, to Paul George’s shortcomings, the organization never living down the loss of Jimmy Butler, and she even goes in on “delusional” Philly fans who stanned for Ben Simmons way longer than they should have.
Spoiler alert, Krick admits she thinks the Sixers have the two worst contracts in the entire league, since Philadelphia still owes Embiid and PG a combined $410.5M in combined salary over the next four seasons.
Listen to the full pod here on Youtube, and read some of the scorched earth teasers from the podcast below.
I had the pleasure of joining @DavidEarly of Liberty Ballers to talk all things Sixers, including my long and sometimes rocky history with Philly fans … it was a ton of fun !!!
Check it out wherever you get your podcasts and watch it here on YouTube:https://t.co/3cfl2J3do1
— Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick) April 30, 2025
Trysta Krick on…
Should the Sixers have traded Joel Embiid following his 2023 MVP season?
Krick: “I was ready to let go of JoJo right after he won MVP. Right after. Because that’s when his value was the highest. You need to get rid of players — and [Daryl Morey and Elton Brand are] in the building, if you run this team you’re in the building, you know everything that JoJo goes through. His knee hasn’t been unswollen in a long time…. It’s like he’s an injury velcro. So if you know that and he wins MVP. there’s a lot of teams like the Knicks at one point that were clamoring for him. Just fleece them…. I know he’s f—ing electric when he’s playing on the court and he’s healthy. But he’s never healthy. So get what you can, lots of picks, probably some good players, because as of now you’re just kind of in this situation where you’re having a very expensive asset that’s no longer seen as an asset. And you saw how that was with Ben Simmons when it took forever to get rid of him.”
The Sixers most likely would have laughed at any offer that didn’t include Jokic, Giannis or perhaps Anthony Edwards back in 2023. But maybe they should have worked the phones at least a little more. (I mean if Luka Doncic was had by the Los Angeles Lakers that cheaply, you never know.)
On Paul George
Krick: “I was sort of like on the fence. I wanted to kinda like get on the positive, optimistic side of Paul George, but… this guy is a combination of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. He’s got mental stuff, he’s not built for the bright lights, he withers under them. They call him ‘Pandemic P’ for a reason. He was again in a fetal position in the Bubble next to his bed cause he couldn’t handle the pressure. And he has injury issues like Joel Embiid. I don’t know why you pay that guy max money.”
Ouch. It’s harsh but so far, fair. And Trysta was only getting warmed up.
Krick: It just seems like [the 76ers] have been interested in the flashy headlines trying to win the offseason, trying to win the day, instead of building a roster that makes any damn sense….
And then [George] had to cancel the podcast cause he’s getting ripped in the media.”
Is the best case scenario here that the 2023 MVP, the exemplar of The Process, never plays in Philly (or anywhere) again?
Krick: “I guess the best case scenario is that [Embiid] can never play again for [the Sixers]… he’s never gonna be fully healthy, right?…. Best case for the Sixers is they can get yeah, a medical exemption. That’s the best case. Best case for Joel is probably he goes somewhere else and figures out a way to be a 55 game [season] guy… man, where would that be? That’s a great question…. it would be a smaller market team. It would be a team that is in need of a star. Charlotte isn’t a bad —, a Washington Wizards, right? Like somebody with cap space, somebody with young players, somebody where he doesn’t necessarily feel like he’s in the spotlight every night. Kinda like you saw with Ben [Simmons] so like a Utah [Jazz]… and maybe a place with very little distractions too.”
Wait for it…do the Sixers potentially have the two worst contracts in the NBA?
Krick: “Yeah. I think so, honestly. I mean, I think Bradley Beal is one of them too, cause you can’t trade him. You’re not physically allowed to trade him. So he’s up there too. But yeah, I mean you’re talking about guys making supermax money that can’t stay on the floor… now you’re thinking to yourself, man, maybe L.A. [Clippers] did everything that they shoulda done by just letting him walk out the door. And not taking any money back. And you just signed these guys… I think they are the two worst contracts in the NBA right now.”
Perhaps in the same vein as Embiid’s troubles might even be Daryl Morey’s potential enabling, per Krick.
On Daryl Morey
“I guess I’m kinda mixed on Daryl Morey as a whole. He’s done some good things, he’s done some shitty things. He’s great on the margins but I feel he’s just too player friendly. You’ve seen guys kinda wild out, like the James Hardens of the world. And they develop bad habits. If Daryl Morey’s paired with a Jimmy Butler, then he doesn’t need to put Jimmy Butler in line. Jimmy Butler’s putting himself in line… if you coulda gotten Jimmy back at the deadline, that woulda been incredible. That would have been an incredible win. Could you imagine? Maybe trade Paul George over to Miami and a bunch of picks and you get Jimmy Butler back together, and maybe all of a sudden Joel Embiid is taking his recovery process more seriously.”
Won’t spoil any more, and we’ll have a follow up post with more heaters. But holy mackerel, Krick pulled no punches. It may be tempting for some of you to dismiss her points. But remember, she does have a pretty darn good track record on this team.