Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
This past weekend had provided us with a lot to chew on Sixers-wise. Whether it be the new information on Joel Embiid's injury, Jahlil Okafor's impending departure or Bryan Colangelo's handling of everything, there's a lot to process at this point. To make things easier, I think I'll just jump right into things and touch on each subject individually. Please keep in mind, these thoughts are my own.
Joel Embiid's meniscus tear:
While a minor meniscus tear may not keep Embiid out for any longer than the bone bruise, it looks bad when a beat writer scoops the actual team and front office on an injury to one of their premiere players. Derek Bodner was the one to reveal the news about Embiid's meniscus tear and then Bryan Colangelo pretty much had to comment on it. He referred to HIPAA regulations as to why they weren't more forward about the tear, but it's almost as if Colangelo was caught in a situation where he had to reveal information that he may never have even spoken about.
It's completely understandable as to why the Sixers are being cautious with their rookie phenom. He's played in just 59 games since 2013, has suffered a fracture of his lumbar spine, underwent two foot surgeries to repair a broken navicular bone and on top of that, Embiid is now dealing with a bone bruise and a slight meniscus tear. It's easy to get excited about how good he can be, but his injury-prone history is rather concerning, no matter how you look at it. Being over-cautious is expected, but it gets to be annoying when a front office that preached transparency isn't really giving us what they promised.
When it comes to the meniscus, Jahlil Okafor is a concerning example here. A CT scan revealed a small tear in his right meniscus back in March of 2016 and was expected to miss six weeks. He had a minor surgery to repair things, but his knee still wasn't healed enough seven months later for the preseason. Okafor has missed time recently as well because his knee hasn't truly felt 100 percent.
Bryan Colangelo's lack of transparency:
There's not much more to say on the Embiid subject at this point, but in order to really show how bad Bryan Colangelo has been when it comes to injuries, the history speaks for itself. In addition to Embiid's meniscus and Okafor's season-ending surgery last year, the Sixers signed Jerryd Bayless to a three-year deal this offseason. He was supposed to be the teams' starting point guard, but had been dealing with a sore wrist throughout training camp. After missing two months and playing in just three games, the team announced he would have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist. Bayless was out for nearly two months and it took that long and three games for Colangelo and company to to reveal what was really going on. There's a big difference between telling us that they are trying rest instead of surgery, but instead, Bayless was pretty much listed as day-to-day for two months.
Ben Simmons is also an interesting situation here. Many had Simmons making a January return, but that didn't happen. After Colangelo's words last week, seeing him closely after the All-Star Game doesn't even seem like a real possibility. Simmons had surgery to repair the Jones fracture in his right foot in October. For an injury that normally takes 2-3 months, it's rather mind-boggling as to why Simmons hasn't even participated in full practice four months after the surgery. Colangelo said the goal is for the team to have Simmons and Embiid on the court at the same time at some point this season, but the lack of transparency for Simmons' injury, one that should be fully healed at this point, is rather head-scratching. Unless there's been an unknown setback, I just don't get why Ben isn't doing more at this point.
Jahlil Okafor's numbered days in Philadelphia:
After a rookie season that saw Okafor averaging 17.5 points and seven boards a game, the second-year center has been relegated to third/fourth center on the depth chart with a healthy Embiid. Although he has the ability to be an effective offensive center, his inconsistencies and defensive inefficiency makes him a tough fit for the Sixers and perhaps any NBA team looking to nab a starting caliber center. As of Sunday, the Bulls and Pelicans are leading the way to land Okafor and the Sixers plan to sit him as long as the trade winds are swirling.
It's not a matter of 'if', but rather 'when', as to a trade at this point and I think that fans need to respect Jahlil and how he's handled this debacle at center. Nerlens Noel has been quiet about the situation after being very outspoken earlier in the year, but Okafor, despite having ups and downs all year and being criticized regularly for his play, has been extremely professional and a great teammate while not playing in games. It doesn't go unnoticed.
“Even with they’re not playing, they’re still with us, encouraging us,” Joel Embiid said after the Sixers played Brooklyn in early January. “Jah gave me a couple (pieces of) advice during the game. It’s hard when you don’t get a chance to get in the game, but that’s basketball and you’ve just got to be ready. Come in every day, work on your game and be with your teammates and be respectful and your time is going to come.”
The majority of the time he's on the bench, he's engaging his teammates, interacting in timeouts and has handled everything phenomenally. I hope he goes somewhere and succeeds, because for a guy that's been an offensive center-point throughout his playing career, he's really taking this all in stride.
Back to business:
The Sixers are in Charlotte tonight for a match-up with the Hornets before traveling to Boston on Wednesday for their final game prior to All-Star Weekend.
