Embiid Could Be Done

[slightly biased bias fan]

Per The Philly Inquirer,

Joel Embiid could undergo a meniscus replacement procedure or a procedure where doctors break a bone in the hip to realign the joint and alleviate pressure.

The same Sixer who made orbital bone fracture and navicular bone fracture common phrases in Philadelphia sports lexicon he is had two of each might soon add one of these: meniscus replacement; low-dose radiation therapy; or even the ominous-sounding osteotomy, in which doctors break a bone in the hip to realign the joint to alleviate pressure.

One source called the procedures radical in light of the mundane injury and surgery that brought Embiid to this point. For some reason, what should have been a routine rehab and a routine return to play has gone horribly wrong.

[Who]

Despite having a huge size advantage [against BKN], Embiid positioned himself in the perimeter in both games.

He attempted six three-pointers on Saturday, missing all of them after going 0-for-2 from deep against the Celtics.

"You know he's feeling pretty decent when he's driving the ball, playing inside a little bit, protecting the rim a little bit," Nurse said. "And you know he's not feeling very decent if he's playing on the perimeter or the opposite of those things.

"He's giving us what he can. Obviously, he's not himself. We all know that he's not certainly the guy we're used to seeing playing at a super-high level. I commend him for giving us what he can."

"I would agree that he's not moving nearly as well as he was," Nurse said Sunday. "We were hoping maybe something conditioning, rhythm, that kind of stuff would get that going. But it doesn't appear that way right now."

Yeah, that is what I expected. That he would start moving better with a run of games. Then Philly would go on a run and enter the playoffs as a dangerous opponents.

Hasn't happened.

[Who]

The original plan was to let Embiid get used to playing with pain, the way Dwyane Wade did during his Hall of Fame career, regularly draining the knee and injecting it with platelet-rich plasma.

Sixers doctors and experts interviewed by The Inquirer considered this the best way for Embiid to rehabilitate the injury for the long term. Once it reached a certain point of healing, resting the knee would not help it recover; it would, in fact, hurt it.

However, it has been several weeks since Embiid has gotten better. Lately he?s gotten worse.

[radiohead]

Could he just retire and try to make a comeback at some point ala Oden? Is there some way Philly could get out of his contract if he does retire?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I'm no Philly fan, but I always feel bad about guys being hurt. He's a highly skilled player, and it would be a shame if this was the end of the line for his career.

[Who]

However, a source said, until this weekend, another surgery has never been a serious option.

Embiid's recovery has been slow.

* It possibly was impeded by playing in the Olympics.
* It surely was impeded by him reporting to training camp in less than optimal shape.
* It also was impeded by him spraining his left foot against the Celtics on Christmas Day. This last issue gets to the heart of his planned recovery.

After getting his meniscus trimmed and then stitched back together - knee cartilage generally does not regenerate - Embiid's best possible outcome involved letting his body adapt to the new reality of the joint. That meant playing through pain.

It was always going to be an uncomfortable and inconsistent road back, said Dr. Fotios Tjoumakaris, a sports medicine surgeon at Rothman Orthopaedics.

"I've had patients who went through these periods where the knee would swell, and we'd sort of manage the swelling. As they got further out from their injury or from a surgery, the knee acclimates," Tjoumakaris said. "Our bodies are tremendous at their ability to adapt. So, you might build strength. You might recover to where the knee gets more comfortable with a little bit of fluid in it and the muscle doesn't react so much, and the muscle can maintain strength."

Tjoumakaris does not treat Embiid, but Sixers sources over the last month have confirmed that Tjoumakaris' expertise was accurate in regard to Embiid's specific situation.

[Who]

Jeez, that stuff on the ankle sprain he had a Xmas against the Celtics sounds like it may have done a number on him.

Embiid?s recovery was approximately on schedule at Christmas. The foot injury cost him six games, but it likely did not exacerbate the knee issue, and it likely will not complicate matters in the future, said Dr. Selene Parekh, who also is a surgeon at Rothman, and who specializes in foot and ankle issues.

?If it?s a true foot sprain, it?s a few weeks and it?s done,? Parekh said. ?If there?s any relationship back to the knee injury, did it change the mechanics and set this up to happen? Who knows??

NBA sources say the Sixers know. Parekh also does not treat Embiid, but a Sixers source said there is no evidence that the sprain affected the knee either immediately after the sprain (he played in five of six games immediately after the injury) nor since it healed.

It seems clear that the sprain stalled the knee?s acclimation process by about six weeks.

After Embiid?s season started, things looked promising. Embiid missed the first nine games of the season between the knee problems and a suspension, but once he was cleared, he played in 13 of 24 games, which was about what Sixers doctors hoped for, which Tjoumakaris endorsed.

However, since the lingering foot sprain finally sidelined Embiid on Jan. 5, he has played in just six of 22 games.

[SparzWizard]

Could he just retire and try to make a comeback at some point ala Oden? Is there some way Philly could get out of his contract if he does retire?

He'll be on his way to Lakerland if he pulls that route. Retire now, rest for a year or two, come back and play for them. They need a center anyways whether this year or next or the year after lol

[Donoghus]

2025-26: $55,224,526
2026-27: $59,539,200
2027-28: $64,302,336
2028-29: $69,065.472 *Player Option

[Who]

https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/inq2/joel-embiid-injury-status-current-history-20250129.html

Oh man, that is a brutal one. Scroll down that article and they check off each part of Embiid's career and list the injuries and games missed in each one.

21 injuries in total.

A cartoon picture of Embiid with where each injury is on his body.

Man, he has had a lot on that left knee. 7 separate injuries on the left knee. 2 on the right knee. 2 in each foot. One injury on a finger on each hand. 4 injuries in his face. 3 fractures and bells palsy. Another injury on his shoulder.

The cartoons are great. They change for each edition of the 76ers jerseys of each era.

339 games missed due to injury. 64% win percentage when Embiid plays versus 32% when he is out.

And they have a counter at the top that tracks how many days since Embiid last played. 4 days. They are updating it each day throughout the season. Yikes!

[MattyIce]

Could he just retire and try to make a comeback at some point ala Oden? Is there some way Philly could get out of his contract if he does retire?

is this a joke right?  he's not passing up on $250,000,000

[blink]

2025-26: $55,224,526
2026-27: $59,539,200
2027-28: $64,302,336
2028-29: $69,065.472 *Player Option

Well from a business perspective, how do you get out of his contract when he might be done physically?
lordy

[slightly biased bias fan]

2025-26: $55,224,526
2026-27: $59,539,200
2027-28: $64,302,336
2028-29: $69,065.472 *Player Option

Well from a business perspective, how do you get out of his contract when he might be done physically?
lordy

Insurance, every contract would be insured for a significant amount. Embiid would have to medically retire from basketball.

If I remember correctly, something along those lines happened to Luc Longley after he left the Chicago for New York. His ankle was finished, but he still had some years left on his contract, so he medically retired and received an insurance payout.

Per a New York Post article from 2001,

The shuffling of paperwork for Knick center Luc Longley and his impending retirement has begun. Jeff Austin, his agent, has sent the Knicks medical records on his deformed ankle for the club doctors to review.

The medical reports indicate he will need an ankle replacement when he is 50, Austin said. That is the how severe the ankle problem is.

Longley rehabbed his ankle for one month after the season before giving up.

I am in great shape, I could bench-press Shaq, I just cannot guard him anymore, Longley told The Post.

The Knicks are receptive to his retirement as insurance will pay 80 percent of the $21 million left on a contract that expires in three years.

[Neurotic Guy]

I don?t know anything about contract insurance for athletes but it would seem not smart for an insurance company to provide a long-term policy on a $250M contract for a guy who had already missed half his games as a pro due to multiple injuries. I guess if the premium was astronomical there would be a point where the risk was worth it, but it?s like insuring a home on an eroding beach, not really worth the risk.   

[radiohead]

Could he just retire and try to make a comeback at some point ala Oden? Is there some way Philly could get out of his contract if he does retire?

is this a joke right?  he's not passing up on $250,000,000

I mean if he?s medically proven to be physically unable to play? Is there a way for Philly to wiggle out of that 4 year deal?