All Joel Embiid Wants For Christmas Is A Little Gosh Darn Help
I love a good grudge. You know I do. I love when decisions are based out upon spite rather than reason. So when Daryl Morey originally said he'd be willing to let Ben Simmons rot in Philly for 4 years if he had to while he waits for the best trade to materialize, I was all for it. Let that clown sit at home playing Call of Duty for the next 4 years as the entire basketball world forgets he even exists.
But when you get a performance like the one we saw out of Joel Embiid last night? When the big fella puts up 43 pts, 15 rebounds and 7 assists to drag the Sixers to a 127-124 overtime win against Charlotte?
Well enough is enough. It's time to give this man some help. As much as I'd love for Ben Simmons to waste away and lose hundreds of thousands of dollars every night he doesn't show up, it's time to end this. Because as much as Sixers fans should hate Ben Simmons, as much as the organization shouldn't cater to that snot nosed little brat…well that's how much you have to love Joel Embiid and that's how much the organization needs to do everything in their power to help him out.
Here's the thing--does adding CJ McCollum to this roster make the Sixers a legitimate threat to win a championship? Probably not. Unfortunate reality but that's just not going to be the case. But does adding CJ McCollum to this roster make the Sixers a better team than they are right now? Will adding CJ McCollum take some of the burden off of Joel? Will it give him a little help so he doesn't have to empty the gas tank every night to score 14 out of the Sixers' final 17 points of the game? Absolutely.
And that's the most important thing here. You can't have Joel Embiid having to put this team on his back every night because at some point (soon) his back won't be able to take it. The back will give out and then the spirit will follow closely behind. Not getting anything for Ben Simmons right now would be a complete and total failure by the organization to waste one of the last few remaining years they have of Joel Embiid's prime. So as much as the situation sucks, as much as it would be great if Damian Lillard said he really wants to play with Joel Embiid rather than being a freak and saying he wants to play with Ben…you have to make the trade. You simply cannot let this go to complete waste.
It's the holiday season. Time to show the people around you how much they mean to you and how much you care about them. The best gift that Daryl Morey could give Joel Hans Embiid this Christmas would be just a little bit of gosh darn frickin' help. Do the deal.