Joel Embiid could play for Philadelphia 76ers this season
By Bryan Rose
When the Philadelphia 76ers decided to draft Joel Embiid with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, few believed he’d be able to see game action during the upcoming season.
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Dealing with a stress fracture in his foot, Embiid was expected to take the route of Philadelphia’s first-round pick in 2013, Nerlens Noel, who missed his entire season due to injury. However, Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie is not ready to rule Joel Embiid out for the season and while he doesn’t have an date of possible return, there is a chance he could play this year.
"On whether Embiid may play this season: “I don’t know at this point. Right now, he’s in Philly and visiting with a variety of our medical professionals and going through tests. He’ll get a good baseline and then we’ll put together a rehab plan. He’s still in a boot. He was shooting threes on one leg in our gym [Monday]. I don’t know how it will play out. We’ll take an approach without knowing where the finish line is. We want to know how we can be sure to put him in a position to have a long NBA career. However long [rehab] takes will be however long it takes."
The Philadelphia 76ers are obviously going to take extreme caution with Joel Embiid’s return, so if he does find himself on the court this season it’s going to be because the organization is comfortable with such a move.
Reports have suggested he could be ‘healthy’ at any point between November and February, so finding a time frame regarding a return seems impossible at the moment.