It's a fairly uncontroversial sentiment to suggest that of the past three seasons of Sam Hinkie's plan, the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers campaign has been the most difficult to watch. With five games left in the season, the Sixers need one more win to avoid tying the 1972-73 Sixers for the worst record in an 82-game slate in league history.
That said, the Sixers organization could turn sharply in a positive direction following this season. Despite all the losses over the course of the last three seasons, the organization has drafted potential cornerstone pieces Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. 2014 first-round pick Dario Saric has suggested that he expects to join the season next year. The Sixers are the favorites to land the No. 1 pick in this summer's draft, and could have up to four picks in the first-round of this year's draft.
Potentially bigger than all of those positive developments is news that Joel Embiid, the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft, is reportedly progressing well from the bone-graft procedure he had on his foot in August.
Crossing Broad's Jim Adair had the initial scoop on Embiid from a 'tipster' who works somewhere at the Sixers practice facility:
Embiid is fully practicing with the team today. Just seen him doing sprints up and down the court. That therapy he got in Qatar looks like it definitely paid off. Idk when he got back state side but this is the first time I’ve seen him at PCOM in a while.
Real GM and Tom Moore of Calkins Media would go on to say the same verbatim quote of "Embiid's lone restriction is full-contact, full-court scrimmaging.''
It should be noted that Adair's tipster suggested that Embiid was scrimmaging with the team, which is something the tipster claimed to have 'never seen.' It's entirely possible that Embiid was scrimmaging in a half-court, non-contact type setting, which still would represent progress.
Embiid was considered one of the best prospects since LeBron James after averaging 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds in his lone season at Kansas. He missed the NCAA tournament due to a back injury, and then had his NBA Draft preparation halted when he broke the Navicular bone in his foot in the lead-up to the draft. That injury, which teams knew would mean he would have to sit out his rookie season, caused him to fall to the Sixers at three, while his college teammate Andrew Wiggins was instead selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Last summer, Embiid's foot injury was determined not to have progressed in a way that pleased the Sixers, forcing Embiid to undergo a second surgery and miss another season.
Since then, he's maintained a low profile, but the team has confirmed that he's taken two different trips to the Aspetar facility in Qatar, trips that coach Brett Brown touted today.
Sixers fans should probably take anything involving Embiid with a grain of salt. Frankly, even when/if Embiid eventually makes his NBA debut, there are valid questions about how someone of his size will hold up over the long-term with a history of foot problems.
But if Embiid were to return to the court next season and begin to fulfill his potential, he absolutely has the talent to potentially be one of the best players in the NBA. And when you pair that with the amount of assets the Sixers have obtained, it could be franchise-changing for a franchise that has probably earned a break.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is an Editorial Assistant for Sixerdelphia.com.
