Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons’ absence could physically break Joel Embiid

Will Joel Embiid’s health push the Philadelphia 76ers to trade Ben Simmons? 

The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to an uneven start to the season, and are sitting at 2-2 with way more questions than answers. While most of them seem to circulate around Ben Simmons, there are on-the-court questions as well.

For one, what’s the plan with Embiid in surrounding him with more talent as the season goes on? It can’t be to simply hope that Simmons is going to have a change of heart and be ready to play for the team – all-in, both mentally and physically – in a few weeks or in a couple of months.

Philadelphia needs to be proactive, especially considering they have a star that is in the middle of his prime. And a star that has had injury issues in the past.

Simmons’ absence now places all the onus on Embiid. And, quite frankly, Embiid’s body isn’t built to carry that amount of pressure. Embiid is at his best when he’s healthy, well-rested, and can take some load management time here and there.

According to an ESPN report, Embiid is so beat up that after a game recently he had difficulty walking. That’s generally what a leader does. A star is not going to let his team play undermanned if it’s not entirely necessary. But that’s another reason why Simmons was so important to this Sixers team. Embiid was able to lean on Simmons and Simmons was able to lean on Embiid.

This is probably the moment that Embiid would take a game or two off, perhaps even a week. But because of Simmons’ absence, that’s no longer an option. It would take a true injury to keep Embiid out of the lineup now.

At least in the mind of Embiid – who’s a warrior and isn’t going to leave his team hanging – he no longer has that luxury as long as Simmons is out. That’s why he continues to fight through little nagging injuries.

But he’s the scariest part of all this – plenty of times, it’s the culmination of nagging injuries that often lead to a major one. That’s something that all of Philadelphia – and basketball fans as a whole – don’t want to see.

It’ll be interesting to see if Embiid’s health situation has any impact on the Sixers’ timeline of possibly trading Simmons. Either the Sixers have to save Embiid from himself and get him into a load management program, or they have to trade Simmons and get him some reinforcements that would allow him to take a game off from time to time.

The Sixers are clearly not in a great situation. But it’s the front office’s job to make the best of all situations. And for the sake of Embiid, the Sixers need to step in and do something. Quickly.