NBA Trade Rumors: Former Philadelphia 76ers' GM reveals whether franchise will move Joel Embiid or not
A lot has been speculated about the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA trade rumors after the slew of front office changes that they've made. The arrival of Daryl Morey has added an extra layer to proceedings. Many are pondering whether Morey will trade either Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to reshape the roster. As per former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, that's unlikely to be the case.
NBA Trade Rumors: Sam Hinkie loathes the idea of Philadelphia 76ers moving Joel Embiid
Sam Hinkie served as the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013 to 2016. He was the one who drafted Joel Embiid in the first place and kick-started "The Process". Appearing on the ESPN Daily podcast, Hinkie stated that there's little chance that the Sixers will trade Joel Embiid.
"Oh gosh. Don't people remember what it took to get them? For all of them. Getting a star player in the NBA is not impossibly hard, but close. It requires either an incredible amount of luck, or an amazing amount of time, or some other way to try and get at it. So what is Jo? 26? To have a young player who is nominally, in a traditional sense, just entering his prime, and say 'oh we've got to blank.' No, job one is you've got to get great players on your team, and he is one." [H/T: CBS Sports]
Signing Daryl Morey can mean only one thing for the Philadelphia 76ers – they want to make significant changes to their roster. But they don't have too many pieces with a high trade value. Yes, Tobias Harris and Al Horford are decent players, but their bloated contracts are pretty hard to move.
In such a setting, the discussion within NBA trade rumors moved to the Philadelphia 76ers' two most prized assets, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Common sense dictates that both these players will remain in Philly next season.
However, the situation might change if someone like James Harden becomes available. Would Morey try to acquire him from the Houston Rockets then? Probably, but even that's a far-fetched scenario right now.
Also read: NBA Trade Rumors - Chris Paul could become a target for Philadelphia 76ers following Daryl Morey's arrival