The verdict is in. The NBA has handed Joel Embiid a three-game suspension for his heated altercation with Philadelphia journalist, Marcus Hayes, at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday. Hayes found himself on the receiving end of a shove from the 2023 NBA MVP after he mentioned Embiid’s late brother and four-year-old son in a critical column at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations, announced Embiid’s suspension on Tuesday. Gilbert Arenas was among those to criticize the “unfair” decision and he took to his podcast, ‘Gil’s Arena’, to explain his concerns about the outcome.
“There’s going to be three games where I’m healthy and I’m getting my check back,” the three-time All-Star stated. Agent Zero was concerned that Embiid losing money because of the league’s decision was unfair to the superstar. ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported that the Cameroonian-American center could lose as much as $1,063,778.
“Owners, listen. You have to understand, there’s two entities – there’s your team and then there’s the NBA. You have to always beat the NBA to the punch because they don’t have your best interests,” Arenas explained.
Gil’s biggest problem with the situation was how the Sixers front office failed to protect their franchise superstar. He said that the team could have gotten ahead of the NBA’s suspension by handling the matter in-house.
“Once I [ownership] penalize him, you [NBA] can’t come in now. You can’t do nothing. I’m going to give him two-three games, right, ‘Hey, hey, we’ll figure that sh*t out anyway but I just said it for the press.’ I’m not fining you. I’m not going to piss off my own player,” Arenas recommended.
Kenyon Martin, who was also present during this discussion, blamed the 76ers as well for not handling the situation proactively. Embiid had voiced his issues with Hayes the day before the altercation, during a post-practice presser. Martin believed that the front office should have taken note of this and barred the columnist from entering the arena the following day.
“He should not have had a media pass for Saturday,” the 2004 All-Star stated.
Embiid’s 3-game suspension is unfair ️ pic.twitter.com/AZ6tr8MT8u
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) November 5, 2024
Unfortunately, the Sixers front office failed to get ahead of the situation and it’s ultimately the team that will pay the price. The Suns handed Philly their fifth loss after Paul George’s return from injury, making them one of the three teams that are still on the hunt for their second win this season.
Embiid was set to return to the lineup this week but the NBA’s suspension will mean that the Sixers will face the Clippers, Lakers and Hornets without their franchise superstar.
Now, the team will have to wait till the in-season tournament opener against the New York Knicks on November 12th to play their #21.
The Embiid-less Sixers travel to the Intuit Dome tomorrow where James Harden and the Clips will look to exploit their lack of size in the paint, and hand Philly its fourth consecutive loss.
