Keith Pompey: A painful truth: Nothing has changed for Joel Embiid, Paul George and the Sixers

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 22, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — The NBA’s Eastern Conference is wide-open.

But nothing has changed.

The NBA draft selection of VJ Edgecombe gave the 76ers a breath of fresh air, an athletic perimeter player who brings to mind a young Victor Oladipo.

But nothing has changed.

To get where they need to be, Daryl Morey, the team’s president of basketball operations, said recently that the Big Three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George would have to be healthy.

Three days later, the Sixers announced that the often-injured George had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. On Wednesday, Embiid revealed that he wasn’t rushing back from his left knee injury, according to an ESPN article, which some think paints the Sixers in a negative light.

But nothing has changed.

The Sixers are the same injury-plagued team with a poor culture. That combination was among the reasons they haven’t advanced beyond the second round of the postseason during the Embiid era.

And to be honest, one has to wonder how his divulgence in that ESPN article will impact the team moving forward.

Some in the fan base have lost trust in the ownership group and front office over some of Embiid’s comments. How will that impact his relationship with the organization moving forward?

Embiid also told ESPN that he knows who leaked the team’s November team meeting, where Maxey confronted him for being late to everything.

“Free agency just started,” Embiid told ESPN reporter Dotun Akintoye. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“So there’s a chance this person may not be around next season,” the reporter responded.

“No,” Embiid said. “There’s a chance they’re still around.”

That exchange led to Eric Gordon, who re-signed with the Sixers, being accused by a fan on X for leaking the news to the media.

Someone from Gordon’s account, presumably him, responded to the post, “Dude talking stupid [stuff]. I’m going on year 18. That ain’t my rep. Get your facts straight!!”

After that response, other returning teammates were being mentioned as possible “snitches” on social media. Revisiting this situation isn’t suitable for team bonding as they head into a critical season.

But offseason drama isn’t new to the Sixers.

In August 2021, Ben Simmons told team brass he no longer wanted to be a Sixer, and he did not intend to report to training camp. Then, in August 2023, James Harden said, “Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

I hate repeating these words, but nothing has changed.

There was a smidgen of optimism that the upcoming season could be different after Morey’s recent comments, combined with injuries and roster reshaping by the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, two conference title favorites.

The Sixers were mentioned in a tier below the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks, the new conference front-runners.

And Morey told a group of 10 reporters on July 11 that George, who missed 41 games last season, is excited to play this season.

“I know he really wants to show the Philadelphia fans what he can do,” he said of the 6-foot-8 forward who signed a four-year, $211.5 million deal last summer. “He didn’t feel like he was able to do that last year. So I know he’s very optimistic and excited to get out there and show what he can do.”

Morey added that George, a nine-time All-Star and four-time All-Defensive selection, is one of their defensive anchors. The 35-year-old still is considered one of the NBA’s better defensive players.

“He had a down shooting year, which is everything we would expect that will come back as he gets more open looks,” he said. “And … the one thing I’m not worried about is Paul George making shots next season, and then he also gives us a lot of connective passing and things like that. We expect him to play at a high level and be right there with Tyrese as one of our top three guys.”

Then came the Sixers’ press release on Monday evening, which stated that George had undergone surgery that day at the NYU Langone Sports Medicine Center in New York.

The surgery followed George’s injury during a workout last week. He will begin a rehabilitation program and be reevaluated before the start of the season.

All of this comes after George was ruled out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season on March 17, the day he received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and left knee.

Both sides will be cautious with this injury, leading to speculation about whether he’ll be ready by the start of the season.

To make matters worse, Embiid might not be ready to return from April’s arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

A season ago, the 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star missed the entire preseason and the first six games while managing a left knee injury, then served a three-game suspension before ultimately appearing in just 19 contests.

Meanwhile, George missed the first five games of the Sixers’ regular season after hyperextending his left knee in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 14.

Nothing has changed.

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