Hinkie: Embiid Could Play This Season, Might Be Sixers' Second Best Shooter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Apparently, Joel Embiid can really stroke it.
Embiid, the Sixers' No. 3 overall pick, continues to rehab his foot while fans eagerly anticipate his NBA debut. However, if you get to the game early enough you will probably see the smooth big-man making it rain.
"We tell people if you want to see Joel, come at 5:30 [p.m.] and watch him shoot before the game," Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie told play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff on Comcast SportsNet, during the Sixers-Warriors game on Monday night. "[Head coach] Brett [Brown] says he may be our second best shooter. He's really shot it well just from the perimeter early on. He's obviously not available to fully run."
While the Sixers are admittedly taking a safe, methodical approach with their hopeful franchise player from Cameroon, Hinkie is not ruling out the possibility of seeing Embiid lace 'em up this season.
"It's still too early," Hinkie said on Embiid playing this season. "We still talked about that. He'll have a number of benchmarks that he'll have to meet and if he meets them he'll play. But if he doesn't, well do what's in the best interest of him for his long-term health. I think it's so key to really be focused on the sober reality of what it is you're trying to do and our goals here are really high. Our goals are to build over time a championship caliber team that can compete year in and year out and that doesn't happen overnight."