Friday, Brian Geltzeiler 
posted a rather damning report of Joel Embiid in The Cauldron, a partner of Sports Illustrated. In his post, headlined with the troubling title “Covert dealings, Embiid's attitude are undermining Philadelphia's 'process'”, Geltzeiler details a few concerns and incidents of strain for the brass related to Joel Embiid over the now 21 year-old’s first season as a professional.
The most troubling of the accounts provided was an incident that occurred during the Sixers’ west coast swing last winter. According to Geltzeiler, Embiid got into a heated altercation with a training staff member, and went as far as threatening him with physical violence.
“The fact that Brown sent Embiid home from a West Coast road trip last season for being insubordinate to the team’s strength coach and training staff is well documented, but according to a source, the tipping point in the decision was Embiid physically threatening the strength coach on that road trip”.
This is downright concerning, but isn’t the most surprising behavior. As Brett Brown often recognizes, with sympathy, Embiid had a pretty brutal year as a first-year pro. He lost his brother this time of season last year, and was told he cannot play the sport that he loves, while being confined to just a few workouts and physical activities.
The team did, what appears to be, their best effort to provide Embiid with what he needed. according to the report, the 76ers would stock his refrigerator with healthy food, only to see it go uneaten.
“Per a source, the Sixers’ training staff was so concerned about what he was eating, they stocked the refrigerator in his downtown hotel residence each week with healthy food. When a staffer went to restock the fridge each week, most everything was uneaten and unopened, and they were throwing out the fruits and vegetables every week. When the team subsequently asked to see Embiid’s room service bill, they found that most days he was ordering junk food along with his signature beverage, a pitcher of Shirley Temples. Embiid also was frequently seen feasting on chicken fingers and hot dogs at and after games.”
It also was a challenge to keep Embiid in the walking boot, reportedly. Finally, the team also tried to keep Embiid out of Las Vegas during the Summer League at the request of Joshua Harris. The problem was, they did not try too much. Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown kept throwing the chore at the other, and ultimately no one stopped Embiid. While there, he did not wear the boot, and proceeded as if nothing was wrong, shooting and jumping. This, as Geltzeiler notes, led to the creation of the theory that Embiid re-broke his foot while recovering last year with, what seems, rather cavalier behavior.
“These actions have given rise to the theory that Embiid actually re-broke his foot, rather than the initial injury not healing properly. It also led to Embiid having the surgery a month later than the club originally had hoped.”
The report essentially shares these details to paint a picture of an anxious, unsettled Sixers front office. Things may be coming to a head on the decision from June 2014 to select Embiid, as the Sixers can only wait for the bone to heal and while waiting continue to support Embiid, as they try to get him to heed their caution.
This is not the first time the media received information on friction between the Sixers and Embiid. Last season, it was leaked by Brett Brown to the Philadelphia Inquirer that Embiid was not satisfying the Sixers’ expectations for his rehab and work ethic. It will be interesting to see the fallout from these comments and if it ends up being traced what Geltzeiler’s source is–the Sixers themselves, or someone else.
http://www.si.com/thecauldron/2015/10/16/philadelphia-76ers-sam-hinkie-joel-embiid-brett-brown-process
