The Philadelphia 76ers is known around the NBA as the team that is always tanking. The purpose for the supposed tanking is to get high lottery picks so they can stockpile young talent and, eventually, become a perennially contender. That theory sounds great, but in practice it cannot work if you miss on draft picks or if the draft picks fail to stay healthy. Joel Embiid is the perfect example of why the tanking strategy is not a viable option, as it has been confirmed that he re-broke the navicular bone in his right foot, according to Philly.com.
Embiid broke the same bone in his right foot before last season and was forced to sit out the entire year, and will again be forced to sit out all of 2015-16 also. Embiid has yet to undergo surgery on the foot, but that is reportedly going to happen any day now.
Embiid is an extremely talented player who many thought should have been the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, but he ended up falling to number three to the 76ers. The main reason for his fall was his injury history. In college, Embiid dealt with back issues that kept him out of NCAA Tournament games, but when he did play he was a dominating force for the Kansas Jayhawks. In 28 games, he averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 63 percent from the field and 69 percent from the charity stripe.
Embiid is still only 21 years old so, if he can ever figure out a way to get healthy, he still has a shot to be a very good NBA player, but that is a huge if at this point. Embiid has yet to play a single minute in an NBA game and, if/when he comes back next season, it is fair to question whether he still has a role in Philadelphia.
The 76ers drafted Jahlil Okafor with the third pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and he figures to be the starting power forward going forward, while Nerlens Noel figures to be the starting center. Due to Embiids injury history, you can't blame Philadelphia for stocking up on young big guys because they are unsure when Embiid will come back or if he will at all.
