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The NBA fined the Philadelphia 76ers $100,000 for comments they made about star center Joel Embiid and his lingering knee trouble.
The league said the Sixers didn’t violate the player participation policy but that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse made remarks “that were inconsistent with Joel Embiid’s health status.”
The NBA also found that the 2022-23 MVP is dealing with a “left knee condition” that’s precluding him from playing right now.
Embiid underwent knee surgery this past February, which sidelined him for much of the regular season after that. He returned in time to suit up for the playoffs and then represented the United States in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
His participation in the Olympics is part of the reason the Sixers raised some eyebrows when they said the 30-year-old would miss the start of the 2024-25 season. They haven’t cited a new injury as the reason for his absence, pointing instead to maintenance of his left knee.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps detailed in an Oct. 14 story how the 76ers, who had already been monitoring Embiid’s minutes for a long time, were going even further to manage his workload this year.
Embiid suggested to Bontemps he may not play both legs of a back-to-back at any point in his career moving forward, with Morey adding that Paul George’s participation in back-to-backs could be limited as well.
Tuesday’s announcement brings some clarity to the situation without resolving the biggest questions surrounding Embiid.
We don’t know when the seven-time All-Star is going to make his season debut. We don’t know how serious this left knee condition is. And we don’t have any idea what his availability will look like moving forward once he does play.
The exasperation from Nurse at this point is evident.
This is all less than ideal for a franchise that’s trying to win a championship.
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