“They Don’t Give a F*** About Joel Embiid”: Gilbert Arenas Doesn’t Care About 76ers Center Given the Franchise’s Injury Mismanagement

The Philadelphia 76ers’ season recently took a turn for the worse. On Friday, the Sixers announced that Joel Embiid will miss the rest of the season due to knee troubles. They were already on a nine-game losing streak and the recent blow is supposed to be the final nail in the coffin for the franchise’s campaign this season.

Gilbert Arenas has had his issues with the Sixers center in the past, but now he doesn’t have any sympathy for Embiid over his injuries. While discussing the recent update on Gil’s Arena, Agent Zero stated that even the franchise doesn’t care about him.

Gil believes that the 76ers management failed to manage Embiid despite knowing how prone he was to injuries. He outlined how Embiid tried to warn the management by opening up about his wish to not play back-to-back games. But instead of resting him for the season and allowing him time to make a complete recovery, the Sixers continued to put him in games.

Arenas said, “They don’t give a f*** about Embiid. So, why should we?”

Although he only played 19 games this season, Embiid was dealing with a lot of pain. He was getting injections before games, just to be able to spend some time on the floor. Even in such a poor state physically, the 76ers continued to keep him on for the season.

Gil believes that the franchise should’ve ruled him out of the season in the beginning. However, they prioritized the season over his health and that decision has now landed them in hot waters. The Sixers might’ve thought that keeping Embiid would be a good idea since they acquired Paul George ahead of the season, but he’s also getting injections to stay in the game.

Josh Harris was against signing an extension deal with Joel Embiid

In September 2024, Embiid signed a three-year, $193 million extension with the 76ers. The decision was confusing to many given Embiid’s history with injuries. However, the franchise wanted to give him his flowers as he was the league MVP the previous year.

On an episode of NBA Countdown, Stephen A. Smith, citing rumors, stated that 76ers managing partner, Josh Harris, was against signing an extension deal with Embiid. But it was on the insistence of president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey that the deal was cracked.

Smith said, “There are rumors that Josh Harris was very reluctant to sign Joel Embiid to this extension and Daryl Morey was the one who said we got to do it. If that’s the truth, Morey is in a world of trouble.”

Morey’s decision might have been the right thing to do as far as acknowledging Embiid’s contributions to the franchise is concerned, but it has proven to be a terrible business decision.