Joel Embiid Trade Pitched to LeBron's Agent Rich Paul by Max Kellerman After 76ers Deal in New Video

Amid the growing speculation that Joel Embiid could be a trade candidate with the Philadelphia 76ers adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to their roster this offseason, Max Kellerman made a pitch to James' agent about dealing the former MVP.

On a recent episode of the Game Over podcast, Kellerman tried to sell Rich Paul on trading Embiid because of the difficulty the Sixers often face with trying to work around his injury absences then reintegrating him back into the offense.

"I don't think the team can keep Embiid," said Kellerman. "He's a victim of his own excellence in the sense that I don't care how healthy he's feeling in the offseason, he's such a big piece to integrate and then have to work around [if he's hurt]. Every year of his career, it's always something else. If I'm the Sixers, I'm moving off Embiid."

Paul did not bite on the idea, explaining that "you want mismatches" in the playoffs and a healthy Embiid "is a mismatch every night."

The key from Paul's reply is the part about Embiid being healthy in the playoffs, which is not something that has happened a lot.

Philadelphia has made the postseason in eight of the past nine seasons. Embiid has missed at least one playoff game in five of those seasons. He has also played a total of 96 regular-season games in the past three seasons.

When Embiid is on the floor in the playoffs, he's very effective with 24.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 66 starts.

There's no indication right now that the 76ers are looking to move Embiid, but their roster construction is something that has to be figured out because they have four ball-dominant starters right now.

Even before James signed with Philadelphia, there were reports of people in the NBA eager to see how Brown and Embiid would fit as they "learn how to maximize each other as teammates."

Given that Embiid was heavily involved in the recruitment of James, the Sixers don't appear inclined to make any big moves before the season starts. It makes sense to see how this group plays together, especially now that they don't have to depend as much on Embiid being healthy in the regular season to succeed thanks to the depth of their starting five.

If things are awkward with all of these players who need the ball in their hands, an in-season move wouldn't be a huge surprise. Embiid, by virtue of his age and injury history, would make the most sense as the one who could be dealt.

The problem, though, is Embiid is owed around $120 million over the next two seasons and has a $67.3 million player option for 2028-29 that might make it difficult to find a trade partner.