Are Joel Embiid and the Sixers done?

The Process is the name given to the strategy of rebuilding the Philadelphia 76ers by former general manager Sam Hinkie. One of the fruits of this process is the man who fans call “The Process,” Joel Embiid.

Embiid is a multi-time all-star, an Olympic champion and a former NBA MVP. But while Embiid has succeeded, the Sixers themselves have never made a conference final with Embiid on the team.

This season, the team currently sits with a 2-11 record. With Embiid starting out the season injured and the team squandering some team veterans called a meeting. In this meeting, teammate Tyrese Maxey called out Embiid for being late to quote “everything.”

This meeting is a cataclysm of what the Sixers have been for the past six years. Philly will make the playoffs with every piece of momentum possible, then Embiid will get injured and the team will bottom out and lose to a team they should beat.

People have blamed management for the personnel decisions the team has made. Or coaches Brett Brown and Doc Rivers for the failures of the players. But one common denominator exists between these past six years, and that man is Joel Embiid.

You see, all of these regular-season accomplishments that Embiid has accumulated have meant nothing once the playoffs arrived. Often, Embiid didn’t play in the majority of the playoff games for the Sixers. He would somehow continuously get injured in the early rounds of the Sixers playoff runs.

This has led to coach Nick Nurse deciding that the team will manage his workload by having him sit out of some games this season. Now let me ask, what other NBA legends have had to take games off because they got hurt so often? Oh, there hasn’t been any, well consider me surprised.

The truth is that no matter who the Sixers bring in to build around Embiid it hasn’t been enough.

They brought in Jimmy Butler, a superstar who dragged the Heat to the finals twice after he left Philadelphia, and didn’t even make it to the conference final.

They brought in James Harden, a multi-time MVP and scoring leader, and lost to the Celtics in an incredibly winnable series.

They now have brought in Paul George, who hasn’t even managed to play a full game with Embiid this season.

What the Sixers don’t realize is that it is past the time to move on from Joel Embiid. Yes, it's still possible to get some value through a trade for the big man, but the value won’t be the same as it was two to three years ago.

Teams will consider Embiid damaged goods, and although he could still play at a high level, how much value does he realistically provide? The best ability is availability after all, and that’s certainly not Embiid’s strong suit.

My conclusion is that realistically this is the final year that Embiid will don a 76ers jersey. These two sides are headed for an ugly breakup, something akin to a high school couple calling it quits in college. What happens is unknown, but if the Sixers continue down their current path, Embiid’s fate is sealed.

Luke Stefanisko is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ljs6415@psu.edu.