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As the Philadelphia 76ers hope to make a big splash in free agency this summer, agents are pitching their clients on being careful about potentially joining a franchise whose best player has an extensive injury history.
On the latest episode of the Ball Don’t Lie podcast, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer explained agents have advised their clients about Joel Embiid’s injury woes that have left him playing at less than 100 percent in the postseason multiple times.
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Agents Are Warning Players Eyeing 76ers to Consider Joel Embiid’s Post-Season Health; per @JakeLFischer
“I’ve heard from multiple agents that if their client want to go to the Sixers, they are going to be advising that guy; ‘are you sure you want to hitch your wagon to Joel… pic.twitter.com/GEB6k2RBoV
Embiid has only missed eight out of a possible 67 playoff games with the Sixers in his career. He has been limited due to a variety of injuries, including orbital fractures, a torn thumb ligament, knee soreness, ankle issues and a torn meniscus.
Those injuries have contributed to a noticeable dip in Embiid’s production in the postseason. He averages 24.9 points on 45.9 percent shooting, 10.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in his playoff career.
By comparison, Embiid’s regular-season stat line is 27.9 points on 50.4 percent shooting, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 433 starts.
Embiid has also never played 70 games in a single season in his career. His career-high was 68 games played during the 2021-22 campaign.
The 76ers have positioned themselves well to potentially add a third star with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted they can create up to $65 million in cap space by renouncing the rights to all of their free agents except for Maxey, waiving players with non-guaranteed contracts and trading their first-round pick without taking any salary back.
Maxey will almost certainly sign a max extension this summer, which Marks pointed out could start at $35 million. This would leave them with enough room to add another max player with some roster maneuvering.
Paul George has been the most popular name linked to Philadelphia if he decides to leave the Los Angeles Clippers. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor said on Wednesday’s episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast (starts at 60:00 mark) that the Sixers believe they have a “real chance” to sign the nine-time All-Star.
No star player has been more injured in the playoffs over the past four seasons than Kawhi Leonard. He’s played just four of the last 19 playoff games for the Clippers since 2021.
While it’s certainly fair to question Embiid’s durability for the playoffs, at least he’s been available for the Sixers most of the time.
Ultimately, these things can be as simple as which team is going to offer a star player the most money for the most years. The 76ers can present all of the top free agents with a competitive offer that will be worth considering.
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