Joel Embiid Injury Update: 76ers Center Refused To Wear Walking Boot; Might Have Caused Re-Injuring Foot
Things are not going well with the Philadelphia 76ers organization right now as their prized draft picks are not living up to the expectations.
The 76ers are in complete rebuild mode for the past few years and ever since they first drafted Nerlens Noel, things haven't been any better for the franchise until now. In fact, their big men prospects were so injury riddled that they have to sit their rookie year before getting some NBA action, such is the case for Noel.
But Joel Embiid is a different story. The 3rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft also missed his rookie season due to a fractured foot and it looks like he is about to sit out the second season of his career as well after re-aggravating the injury he sustained.
But it looks like the blame is on Embiid as he allegedly refused to follow the safety precautions required during the healing process according to Brian Geltzeiler on SI's The Cauldron.
"Embiid's lax approach to his rehab and the circumstances surrounding the second foot surgery he needed this past summer has caused the organization much anxiety," Geltzeiler wrote.
"The simple task of getting Embiid to consistently wear his walking boot was a challenge for the franchise, and multiple sources suggested that some people in Philadelphia's front office wonder whether a second surgery would have been necessary if Embiid had worn the boot as much as he was told to."
And to add insult to injury, their newest prized big man, Jahlil Okafor, is experiencing sore right knee which might render him unable to play in the season opener as confirmed by head coach Brett Brown via Philly.com.
"It's not fair to him, it's not fair to put him in that situation (to be fully ready by opening night)," said Brown. "The end game, I hope, will be about 32 minutes, maybe even more. But it's really based on his fitness."
"He has no right to come out and be fit right from this injury. So I have to be smart with the minutes I give him. That is the end game that I hope to get to, 32 minutes. It's going to be based on if you can go hard for four eight-minute stretches. If you can go for four eights, then that's a good thing."
