Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler raise eyebrows with Instagram exchange
The trade deadline has come and gone, but the speculation never stops in the NBA.
The 76ers have lost four of their past six games and have struggled to meet high expectations this season. Even Philadelphia All-Star center Joel Embiid has drawn some criticism for his up-and-down play, and he seemed to be shushing booing 76ers fans when he made a key three-pointer in Sunday’s win over the Bulls (although he later said the finger he raised to his lips was not directed at the home crowd).
The mixed signals continued Monday, when Embiid posted onto Instagram a photo of the moment he raised his finger to his lips. The caption Embiid wrote to go with the photo? “’You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.’ #TheProcess”
That post got the attention of Embiid’s former 76ers teammate and current Heat wing Jimmy Butler, who commented on Embiid’s Instagram post: “I know a place where villains are welcome” with a shrug emoji. Butler’s comment seemingly and almost clearly referenced the Heat.
Then Embiid commented below Butler’s comment with: “Damn right my brother.”
What does all this mean? Who knows, but Butler and Embiid have remained close friends even after Butler left the 76ers to join the Heat this past summer in free agency.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his podcast recently that “the conversations people are starting to have in the league is ‘will they move Embiid? What’s the price? Where would he go?’”
Windhorst went on to say on his podcast: “It’s such a radical thing, but the fact that we’re in mid-February and the people who work in the league, who have to prepare in advance, are mulling over Joel Embiid potentially coming to market, whether that’s true or not... I mean, [76ers owner] Josh Harris can come on this podcast and deny it if he wants, but the fact people are talking about it, is not good. It’s a symptom of where they are.”
Embiid, 25, is on a contract that runs through the 2022-23 season and is set to earn a salary of $29.5 million next season. So, free agency is not coming any time soon for Embiid.
Even if the 76ers were to make Embiid available in a trade down the road, they would certainly want a lot in return.
Embiid, who was voted as an All-Star Game starter this year, is averaging 22.8 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks this season.
For now, file this away as two close friends having fun on social media and just another story line in the never-ending soap opera that is the NBA.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 9:46 PM.
