The Clippers have already paid a steep price for the Kawhi Leonard saga, and if they’re serious about digging out of that hole, they may need to start thinking like a team willing to absorb ugly money.
That’s where Joel Embiid enters the conversation.
On the “Third Apron Podcast” with Yossi Gozlan and Sam Quinn, Quinn floated the idea that Los Angeles could eventually turn into a landing spot for contracts other teams want to move, including Embiid’s.
"Are you willing and able to take damaged goods? Somebody who's injured, somebody who's older, somebody who has a contract that doesn't really fit into the structure of whatever their team is building. Joel Embiid is a really obvious one."
Philadelphia signed Embiid to a three-year, $193 million extension before the start of the 2024-25 season, and that deal begins this year. The money only climbs from there: he’ll make right at $58 million in 2026-27, $62.6 million in 2027-28, and then holds a $67.3 million player option in 2028-29.
Right now, the Sixers are in good shape. Embiid is healthy, and training camp is only a couple of weeks away. But that stability has a shelf life if his health turns again, especially with Philadelphia having added more talent around Tyrese Maxey.
If that happens, the front office may have to entertain the idea of a trade, and the Clippers could be one of the few teams positioned to make it work.
For Los Angeles, the incentive would be obvious: help recover some of the draft capital the franchise lost, even if that means taking on a massive contract. The Clippers did land a couple of unprotected first-round picks in the Leonard trade, but a deal for Embiid would likely require Philadelphia to add more to the package, possibly including the picks the Sixers received from the Clippers in the James Harden trade.
There’s also the center problem. If Philadelphia were to move Embiid, it would need a real starter waiting in the wings, and Adem Bona, who is out with a left ankle sprain, and Ariel Hukporti wouldn’t be enough.
The Sixers already know Embiid’s minutes will have to be managed during the regular season, and that’s before getting into the lack of dependable insurance behind him. At the same time, the offseason dominoes fell in Philadelphia’s favor with the additions of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, which raises the pressure to make a run now.
Embiid can still be part of that push. But the injuries aren’t going away, and the new front office will have to decide how long it can keep betting on him. If the answer changes, his contract will narrow the market fast - and the Clippers, of all teams, could wind up being the escape hatch that helps Philadelphia deal with a problem that never really disappears.
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76ers Suddenly Have A Bigger Center Question Than Expected
The 76ers frontcourt picture took a turn when the team announced that center Adem Bona has a left foot sprain, an injury confirmed by MRI. Bona will be re-evaluated at the start of training camp in late September, and the team is not offering a definitive return timetable before media day, which leaves his immediate availability very much in question as the season approaches.
A situation that had looked relatively straightforward now has a little more uncertainty attached to it, especially for a team that wanted to use camp to sort out its center rotation. Bonas absence could open more reps for fellow center Ariel Hukporti in training camp and the preseason, giving the 76ers a chance to learn a little more about their depth while one of their young bigs works back toward full health. [Read more 🡒]