Joel Embiid has yet to make his official National Basketball Association (NBA) debut ever since being picked third overall back in the 2014 NBA Draft.
However, if his rehab goes according to planned, the Cameroonian seven-footer is expected to debut next season.
Optimistic about those chances is none other than general manager Sam Hinkie, who revealed that Embiid is currently undergoing intense rehab on his right foot to make sure he does officially set foot on the NBA hardwood.
The earliest that NBA fans would be able to see him, though, would likely be during the start of the regular season wars. Ideally, rookies (technically Embiid is one until he plays his first game in the NBA) would showcase their wares in the NBA Summer League.
Hinkie singles out the first surgery Embiid had June 2014. The Cameroonian was hoping to make it to the Summer League but eventually didn't. Even though nothing is final, he sees it pretty much the same way as well — as a precautionary measure, thinking long-term.
Should Embiid indeed be on course to debut, there is another issue the Sixers will have to face. Can they truly thrive with three young big men moving forward?
At the moment, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are strutting their stuff, although such has not rendered any result. Both play the same position (center-forward) and Embiid could crowd them when he does get clearance to play.
At some point, the Sixers may have to deal one of them, although it is not clear who.
Noel has been around the longest, while Okafor would be in his second year. Okafor has had his share of off-court issues, although that may not be enough to convince Hinkie and the Sixers management to trade him off first.
Before the NBA trade deadline, the Boston Celtics were reportedly interested in Okafor. As everyone knows right now, nothing materialized.
