Recent rumor shows why Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers can't be taken seriously

A new rumor proves why the Philadelphia 76ers can't be taken seriously as a championship contender.

I'll be the first to admit that I bought it. After acquiring Paul George in free agency, I did believe that the Philadelphia 76ers would emerge as a strong candidate to overtake the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference and potentially win the 2025 NBA Championship. After all, looking at their roster, how could you not buy into what the Sixers were selling their fan base on a title-contending roster?

With the addition of PG and after retooling their supporting cast, it did seem as if the Sixers finally had the right collection of players that was going to take the team to new heights. As we've seen time and time before in the NBA, it's one thing to win an offseason and it's an entirely different thing to actually win on the court. So far this season, the Sixers have been a disaster. They have the worst record in the NBA at 2-12 and they continue to be decimated by injuries.

But it's not even their rough start of injuries that concern me most about this team. In fact, I'd argue that the latest rumor surrounding the Sixers is the biggest reason why they can't be taken seriously as a possible contender in the Eastern Conference. According to a recent report, Embiid is "furious" about the leaked reports of what took place behind the scenes of a team meeting earlier this week and that he and PG want to find out who the source was. With the way this season is gone, it sounds as if Embiid is more mad about this leak than he is about the team's slow start to the season.

The clear locker rooom issues

And that's one of the bigger reasons why it may be time to eliminate the Sixers from the group of teams that could potentially make a run during the second half of the season. They may be talented but it does seem as if this team has all of its priorities in the wrong place. Team meetings are leaked all the time. I'd have to imagine Embiid is embarrassed or mad that it was leaked he was called out. If that is the case, he's putting himself above the team.

Additionally, what is Embiid and PG going to do when they do find out who the leak was? This entire situation feels like a complete waste of time for me. But maybe I'm wrong. Again, I'm not in an NBA locker room and perhaps this is the norm. Or maybe it's not and it just goes to show just how divided or broken this locker room is at the moment.

Either way, it's not good. The Sixers don't appear to be in a good place and I'm not sure how they're going to turn things around. Sure, getting healthy will help but there's been little evidence to suggest that Philadelphia is a good team even when they are at full strength. But, sure, make finding out who the leak was a priority. The Sixers are a mess right now. Maybe they figure it out over the next couple of months but it's not looking good.