I love when random NBA storylines like this come about because it's so easy to get a franchise's fanbase fired up with a simple post about the team's gambling odds to acquire (x) player.
Bovada is a well-known sportsbook that puts up just about any lines for a player's next NBA landing spot, and their latest player spotlight is on Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who is facing an uncertain future.
Everyone recognizes Embiid's talents (when healthy), but therein lies the problem: he can never stay healthy. His devotion to the game has been questioned—not only by fans but also rumored to have been voiced by his teammates and the organization, as the early-season 76ers fiasco suggested.
Embiid's meniscus tear from last season is spiraling out of control, and his rash decision to play through the injury in pursuit of Olympic gold this past summer did not help his recovery efforts. New intel from ESPN's Shams Charania suggests that doctors and medical specialists are working with the 76ers organization and Embiid to find an adequate solution to his condition.
The 76ers could be in shambles with Embiid's deteriorating knee, not to mention that their high-risk gamble to add Paul George is quickly proving to be a horrendous business move. As a result, sportsbooks like Bovada are keeping an eye on where Embiid could land next.
Would you believe it's the Toronto Raptors at +1500 odds to land the 30-year-old former MVP award winner?
Raptors tabbed as favorites to land Joel Embiid in hypothetical sweepstakes
The same team that made Embiid cry in the 2019 playoffs, the same team that had an aging but game-ready veteran in Marc Gasol limit him to zero points once, and the same city where Embiid has grown to become a hated antagonist after a long list of dirty antics. Absolutely absurd to think about, but hey, there's never a dull moment in the NBA, and stranger things have certainly happened in the past.
Now, to be completely fair, I think a lot of 'reports' (take that with a grain of salt) like this are just loaded and click-baity to get a reaction going, and it certainly got the fans talking in the X thread below. Here are some of my favorite responses by the Raptors faithful:
i’d rather bring back aron baynes. https://t.co/AY9QQ2I36z
— alemeda fan club (@wsgadlibs) February 26, 2025
I’ve been a Raptors fan for over 10 years and this would be enough to make me change teams please no
— JSP (@JSPCBFW) February 26, 2025
This is just the surface level of it all; there were a ton of other really funny ones, but they had a fair bit of expletives in them, so I couldn't really include them in this post. But you get the point; basically, everyone sees this idea as fraternizing with the enemy. A while ago, Raptors fans were quick to make their voices heard on social media, calling out ex-coach Nick Nurse for what seemed like karma coming back to haunt him in his new role, following the poor way his Toronto tenure ended.
Even if Embiid, by some divine miracle, could return to his All-NBA and MVP-caliber self, it will be a tall task for the Raptors' staff—especially Alex McKechnie, the team's renowned Vice President of Player Health and Performance—to get him back up to speed. McKechnie might've been able to salvage the career of a similar big who seemed to be in the twilight of his health in Shaquille O'Neal, but Embiid might just be a lost cause.
The fact that he faces such a negative fan response in Toronto is also the dagger to this entire hypothetical scenario. I think I'm among the majority who feel Embiid should either hang it up early (as unfortunate as that might be, negative feelings aside) or that the 76ers organization should pursue whatever mutant, next-level medical procedure is necessary to get him back to at least a fraction of his best self.