Stephen A.: 'Rumors' 76ers' Josh Harris Was Reluctant to Give Joel Embiid New Contract

It may have been Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, not team owner Josh Harris, who drove the decision to sign Joel Embiid to a three-year max extension last fall.

Stephen A. Smith said Friday on ESPN's NBA Countdown that Harris was rumored to have been "very reluctant" to sign Embiid's extension.

"Daryl Morey was the one who said, 'We got to do it," Smith said. "If that's the truth, Daryl Morey is in a world of trouble."

Embiid played just 19 games this season before the Sixers announced Friday he would miss the rest of the campaign with ongoing left knee issues.

Embiid underwent surgery on a torn meniscus on his left knee in February 2024. After missing two months of the NBA season, he returned for the Sixers' playoff run in April. Four months later, he joined Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics in August.

Embiid put up four points from the foul line as Team USA defeated France for the gold medal on Aug. 10.

One month and one week later, Embiid posted a photo of himself signing his new contract while sitting beside Harris. The three-year, $193 million deal, which does not kick in until next season, includes a player option for the 2028-29 campaign.

It was only about a month after that photo was taken that Embiid's knee issues began making headlines once more. Embiid was sidelined for the preseason, then the beginning of the regular season. He made his season debut on Nov. 12 only to miss eight of the Sixers' next 11 games.

As recently as Feb. 7, following a stretch during which Embiid had been sidelined for almost a month, Morey said "no" when asked if he had any regrets about the extension.

"We thought it was the right move at the time, we think it's the right move now," Morey said, naming the Embiid extension as the reason Paul George was willing to sign in Philadelphia, per PhillyVoice's Adam Aaronson.

Morey added: "The feedback we got from, as I mentioned, so many medical staffs, was that this is something that is manageable and over time should improve. So we thought it was the right decision."

Three weeks later, Embiid's season was officially over due to what ESPN's Shams Charania and Ramona Shelburne described as increasing pain and swelling in his knee. Marcus Hayes recently reported for the Philadelphia Inquirer that Embiid could consider "radical" procedures requiring up to a year of rehabilitation in order to address the lingering issues.

In addition to calling into question Embiid's future in the NBA, the injury raises uncertainty about Morey's future. The executive is currently signed through the 2027-28 season alongside head coach Nick Nurse.

Amid reports of locker room tension in November, The Athletic's Sam Amick, David Aldridge and Jared Weiss reported Morey's job was safe but that "the expectation going forward is for everyone in the organization – including Embiid, Nurse and Morey – to take a look in the mirror and see what role they have in making the team better." The outcome of the Embiid extension could potentially lead the team to turn toward Morey when looking for who to blame for what has so far been a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.