A Philadelphia 76ers insider certainly believes that the New York Knicks are a prime candidate to potentially snag Joel Embiid away.
In his appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer echoed his belief that the Knicks do intend to hunt for Embiid’s availability and are keenly waiting to release their massive draft assets to fulfill it.
“I would say the Knicks [as a potential Embiid landing spot],” he said, via HoopsHype. “Leon Rose used to be his agent, Joel already owns a house up in New York, he’s had it for a while. And the worst-kept secret is that the Knicks have been compiling and keeping a whole of their first-round draft picks hoping and praying that Embiid asks out. If you add Joel Embiid to that team, that team is going to be catapulted to one of the top teams in the East. And I could see that absolutely happening.”
Speculations of Knicks chasing Embiid were revived with the 76ers experiencing a challenging offseason trying to solve their dramatic relationship with James Harden, who exercised his $35.6MM player option for 23/24 but expressed his desire to get traded.
And chatters even became more raucous when Embiid made it known that he desperately wants to win a championship whether he’s with Philadelphia or not.
The Knicks currently have 11 first-round draft picks from 2024 to 2030, including seven of their own picks from the said span. As such, these can already be molded as a robust foundation to build a potential trade framework that will entice GM Daryl Morey and the Philly brass to let go of Embiid.
The intention of New York to monitor Embiid’s situation comes from the fact also that they already have an elite squad that needs one more puzzle piece to complete their championship picture. Behind Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, the Knicks were able to defy odds and expectations by reaching the Conference Semis in the last postseason.
For now, Embiid remains vying to finish his career as a Sixer, and the franchise is surely trying its best to get over the hump with him after previous years of painful and disappointing playoff exits.
But if luck continues to remain elusive for both sides, then watch out for a massive change that features New York making a desperate move.