Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It seemed like a trade involving Jahlil Okafor was imminent this past week as the Sixers decided to sit him amid ongoing trade rumors that had the second-year big man likely heading to Chicago or New Orleans. Whether you like it or not, no move has been made and Okafor has re-joined the team in Boston for their final game prior to All-Star festivities this weekend. Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown joined the WIP Morning Show on Wednesday to describe the Okafor situation in a little more depth.
“I will [play Okafor] and I appreciate to the outside world, it would seem bizarre and I get it,” Brown said of Okafor on the 94WIP Morning Show. “And in many ways, if I didn’t coach such good young guys and good young players, good people, this could never work.”
“Trade talks were advanced, we chose not to play him to complicate things,” Brown continued. “The trade talks fell down. He’ll get on a plane and be with me in an hour and a half and I’ll put him in the game. And him and Nerlens [Noel] will go at it with the Celtics, the second best team in the east, and we’ll go into the game with that admittedly sort of strange entry back into our team.”
Nerlens Noel will continue to start, according to Keith Pompey, while Okafor will come off the bench tonight against Boston. In seven games during the month of February, Noel is averaging 9.8 points on 58.7 percent shooting to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals. Meanwhile, Okafor has missed the last two games after a less than ideal seven-point effort against the Magic last Thursday. He's averaging 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this season for the Sixers.
Moving on to Joel Embiid and his injury, Brown downplayed the severity of it, reassuring listeners that the meniscus tear was pre-existing and that he should return to the court after the All-Star break.
“And I think the thing that has caught probably the public off guard, is the people in the know felt it was a preexisting injury. Everybody should hear this, our intention is we’re gonna play him. He’s gonna do what he’s doing, he’s gonna come back after the all-star break and it’s our intention to get him back on the court.
Although it's promising to hear the intentions of Embiid's return after the weekend, it's tough to take anything the Sixers say at face value regarding injuries. Jerryd Bayless was listed as day-to-day for two months before playing three games and then having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist that had bothered him since training camp. Ben Simmons had surgery on a Jones fracture in his foot nearly five months ago and still hasn't started participating in full practices. That being said, Brown, who didn't find out about the meniscus tear until after the fact, remains positive about the rookie phenom coming back soon.
"The injury was a bone bruise and I feel like when people hear meniscus, people’s eyes and ears go up and I understand. But really the end game for us, is we hope to get him back on the court after the all-star break.”
I think fans and media alike will believe an Embiid return when he actually steps on the court for tip-off after the All-Star Game. Despite all this questionable news surrounding the team, they are in the midst of a three-game winning streak and look to finish the first half strong tonight against the Boston Celtics.
