Joel Embiid has been with the Philadelphia 76ers since being drafted with the third overall pick in 2014. The 2023 MVP is the Sixers’ crown jewel, having proved himself as arguably the most dominant big man in the NBA.
On Friday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Embiid is signing a three-year contract extension with the Sixers. The extension is reportedly worth $193M, positioning the Sixers on the hook for $300M in salary over the next five years. Embiid will be 33 by the time he has to make a decision on his player option worth $69M.
Securing Embiid’s long-term future should be seen as a smart move by Daryl Morey and the Sixers front office. However, when you consider the veteran big man’s considerable injury history, poor conditioning and lack of success with the franchise, the decision to commit another $193M rapidly becomes questionable.
Embiid played 39 games this past season, the second-lowest number of his career if you exclude his first two seasons in the NBA, when he didn’t play at all due to a foot injury. Even when he has been healthy, his presence on the floor hasn’t translated into deep playoff runs for his team, with the Sixers not making it out of the second round during his career.
There’s no denying that Embiid is an exceptional talent. You don’t win an MVP by being a run-of-the-mill player. However, his reputation for fading during physical playoff series and being unreliable in terms of health make him the wrong type of player to trust when looking for future success. The fact that the Sixers have paired him with Paul George, who also has significant injury red flags, is a risk-laden strategy that could blow up in Morey’s face.
Logically speaking, the Sixers had no choice but to offer Embiid a max contract extension. He’s the team’s star player and a top-10 talent in the NBA. However, if he’s struggled to remain healthy during his prime, the latter years of his career aren’t expected to be much better.
Philadelphia is on the hook for $300M to a player who could miss 30-40% of the total games between now and the end of his extension. That’s too much of a risk for a franchise that has spent years trying, and failing, to build a contender.
Embiid must find a way to stay healthy. Otherwise, the Sixers will be throwing money down the drain with nothing to show for it other than a few more second-round playoff exits.