Another non-update update on Embiid

[jambr380]

If news comes out that Embiid is going to have another surgery, feel free to dance on Embiid's grave and create threads gloating about how wrong I am.  Until then, he's innocent until proven guilty.   On a scale of 1-10 of how concerned I am about Embiid's foot... I'm at a 1.5  ... and that's only because of the media hysteria.  All the facts coming out aren't that exciting. 

Can I dance on graves/create threads about how wrong you are yet??

It's been done to death already. You missed the locked thread.  My avatar is me eating crow.

Here's some info on what is being done:

"There was careful consideration given to a number of options related to this particular situation," Hinkie continued. "A collective decision has been made that the best approach to promote full healing would be to proceed with a bone graft of the fracture site. We anticipate the procedure will take place in the next 7-10 days and result in Joel missing the upcoming season."

Didn't get to mention it on the other thread but you've handled this with class.  It's easy to respect a guy who climbs out on a limb when he doesn't cry as it breaks underneath him.

Mike

Yeah, your arguments were based on factual evidence, even though they were a little hopeful. I didn't get to see the rest of the thread that got locked, but you came right out with it - loves the part about worrying about their being a 5 page thread on you and then being right.

I was all for getting Embiid last year. He may turn out to be amazing, but I guess we should be pretty satisfied with Smart right now. Unfortunately with this possible career-ending injury (besides it being a horrible situation for Joel), the Cs are pretty likely out of contention for one of the Philly bigs.

[GreenGoggles]

If news comes out that Embiid is going to have another surgery, feel free to dance on Embiid's grave and create threads gloating about how wrong I am.  Until then, he's innocent until proven guilty.   On a scale of 1-10 of how concerned I am about Embiid's foot... I'm at a 1.5  ... and that's only because of the media hysteria.  All the facts coming out aren't that exciting. 

Can I dance on graves/create threads about how wrong you are yet??

It's been done to death already. You missed the locked thread.  My avatar is me eating crow.

Here's some info on what is being done:

"There was careful consideration given to a number of options related to this particular situation," Hinkie continued. "A collective decision has been made that the best approach to promote full healing would be to proceed with a bone graft of the fracture site. We anticipate the procedure will take place in the next 7-10 days and result in Joel missing the upcoming season."

Didn't get to mention it on the other thread but you've handled this with class.  It's easy to respect a guy who climbs out on a limb when he doesn't cry as it breaks underneath him.

Mike

Yeah, your arguments were based on factual evidence, even though they were a little hopeful. I didn't get to see the rest of the thread that got locked, but you came right out with it - loves the part about worrying about their being a 5 page thread on you and then being right.

I was all for getting Embiid last year. He may turn out to be amazing, but I guess we should be pretty satisfied with Smart right now. Unfortunately with this possible career-ending injury (besides it being a horrible situation for Joel), the Cs are pretty likely out of contention for one of the Philly bigs.

Whats scary is that Ainge said he would've taken Embiid if he fell to sixth. Said there were red flags but nothing career threatening..Very happy with the Smart pick.

[RAAAAAAAANDY]

Here's some info on what is being done:

"There was careful consideration given to a number of options related to this particular situation," Hinkie continued. "A collective decision has been made that the best approach to promote full healing would be to proceed with a bone graft of the fracture site. We anticipate the procedure will take place in the next 7-10 days and result in Joel missing the upcoming season."

I think his long-term career is in major jeopardy.  It's perfectly possible that he sits out the first 2 seasons of his career due to chronic foot injuries/healing issues and comes back to be an All-NBA player.  I think this scenario might be unprecedented in NBA history.

As for the Sixers and the other tanking teams...this is exhibit 1A as to why tanking is a very dangerous strategy.  No team is immune to drafting a guy that is either physically or talent-wise a complete dud.  So now the Sixers fans and their wonderful season-ticket holders have another season of 15-20 wins to look forward to.

And the Andrew Bynum trade is exhibit 1A to why acquiring a star is just as risky, you gut the team and if he gets hurt have nothing left to fall back on. The Sixers will win 25+ this year, they're clearly a lot better than they were this time 1 year ago. I was hoping Embiid would be able to return near the ASB or new year if he had to get surgery, but it's obviously more serious than that. At this point if he pans out he's found money, but the Sixers can mitigate this a bit easier than most rebuilding teams.

Boston is rebuilding and they could probably lose two players and not only win more than Philly next year but still be better positioned to improve in the future.  After two plus straight years of tanking, Philly looks to have two very good but one-dimensional guys who play the same position and maybe one or two other rotation-quality players on their roster.  They could finish year three of their rebuild still needing to find three starters and three or four bench players to just to be a legitimate playoff contender.

Mike

And you still would need to find your two best players to be a championship contender... And if one of them isn't a Center, you'd need one of those too. Congratulations on having 15 role players, with 1 that has any sort of potential to be a top 15-20 guy(Smart). That doesn't mean you're closer to contending, it means you're the exact same distance as every other team with no shot at winning the title this year.

And how exactly are you better positioned to improve in the future?

Lower draft picks? Less valuable trade assets? Less cap space? The ability to sign Amir Johnson in FA?

Both of these rosters are still a long wayyyyy from contending.

[colincb]

At this point in time I think there's a very good chance that Embiid is Oden 2.0.  The Sixers went to see a lot of people on this and they were unanimous that he should get a 2nd surgery. There's one column in Sixersland that said that his foot had deteriorated from the last doctor's visit, which was news to me and different than than the assertion that he had not healed at the rate expected. That's pretty dramatic if true, but I've seen the claim only in one place so it may not be.

There's also discussion as to nutrition here

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20150712_How_will_another_year_off_the_court_affect_Embiid_.html

... One [call] was to an orthopedist who has treated world-class athletes. Having never examined Embiid, she was willing to speak in general terms about his situation. She raised a pertinent question immediately, wondering whether Embiid had a metabolic disorder - a vitamin deficiency, perhaps - that might render his bone brittle and more susceptible to fracture. The question was pertinent because a year ago Sunday, in an interview after completing the surgery that was supposed to repair Embiid's foot, Richard Ferkel discussed that very topic: whether Embiid's bone density might play a role in his injuring or reinjuring himself and how Ferkel and the Sixers might strengthen Embiid's bones through improved nutrition.

I know someone here raised this issue too. The article cited also made it pretty clear that Sixers knew the most recent exam was a pretty big deal.

[celticsclay]

This latest set back is misinterpreted as Exhibit A of the Case that Tanking is wrong.

I disagree. It has nothing to do with tanking, and its perils.  As someone (LB?) pointed out, the Sixers tried to get Andrew Bynum in a trade, which had nothing to do with tanking, and got burned, even worse. 

It is an example of the risk of taking a chance on a player, particularly a really big player, who has a pre-existing foot/leg injury.  The moral of the story should be: Tread very lightly. 

In Embiid's case, I recall the medical interpretation of doctors of his medical chart following his foot injury during pre-draft was for a full recovery. (Difficult to tell, since Embiid's agent only released it to a few teams, as a strategy matter (did not want to be drafted by UT or ORL).  Danny himself said that he would have picked him had he been available.

The next time a big man with super star potential and foot problems presents itself (it will happen again, sooner than you think), I wonder if guys like Hinkie and Danny will think twice, and really grill the doctors who are giving them advice, before biting the bullet? 

I don't know what I would do.  Often we get so blinded by the upside, we downplay the risk.  For all we know about Embiid today, some (probably me, maybe Danny) would still be willing to offer a decent package to take the gamble he will eventually fully recover, because when we watch his tape, you can easily project a dominant player, he looked that good.

I have to disagree that you could offer much more than maybe a very late first rounder at this point for Embiid (unless you consider that a decent package). The 76er's are saying his career is threatened and he may never play in the NBA. I really couldn't understand the argument that you could risk a "package for him."

As for other related stuff, it was amusing reading the locked thread yesterday. I argued with Larbrd as much as anyone about embiid, but he doesn't have anything to do with embiid's injury personally. I don't really get being more interested in his reaction than the news itself. I guess he is a celebrity at this point. TP for LB for handling it well. Also, funny seeing DOS reference me as someone that manages appropriateness on the blog (or something?)