Tim Bontemps, ESPN November 2, 2023, 11:31 p.m. ET
PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid spoke for the first time since James Harden was traded to the LA Clippers and said he disagreed with Harden’s assessment that he has been held back by the 76ers in recent years.
“I don’t think so,” Embiid said after Thursday’s 114-99 win over the Toronto Raptors, which he finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in 35 minutes. “I think he’s done a lot of great things for us.
“But in my opinion, we gave him the ball every single possession because he’s really good on possession to just go out there and, you know, do his thing. And from then on he had to make decisions about whether to open up the boys or take care of himself.
“But I thought he did a pretty good job of getting us on offense and just passing the ball so the guys were open. That’s why he won the assist title last year.”
Editor favorites
2 relatives
Harden said at his opening news conference Thursday in Los Angeles that he felt like he was on a leash last season with Philadelphia, adding: “I’m not a system player. I’m a system player.”
But as Embiid said, Harden led the league in assists last season with the 76ers, while Embiid led the league in scoring and earned his first MVP award. The season ended with the 76ers losing to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, marking the fifth time in six seasons that Philly was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
After finally electing his $35.6 million player option for this season in June, Harden requested a trade from Philadelphia to the Clippers – a request that was granted early Tuesday.
Embiid said he was glad Harden got what he wanted.
“I’m glad the situation has been resolved and I’m happy for him,” Embiid said. “I hope he has a chance to be successful, make a lot of money, play good basketball and win. And I hope we both make it to the final, but he’s on the losing side and we’re on the winning side.” It.
“But I think if you look at the situation, where it probably came from, there was nothing we could do. It was beyond our control. So in this situation you just have to go along with it.”
“But I still think we had a chance [to win together]. We were spot on, especially with the team we have now. What he can add and what he’s done, what we’ve allowed him to do, what we’ve given him on every single possession. … It’s unfortunate, but we just have to keep going and we have a good group of guys that can grow and keep getting better.”
After a season-opening one-point loss to host Milwaukee, Embiid and the 76ers (3-1) picked up their third straight win against the Raptors. In addition to Embiid’s dominance, Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. each scored 23 points.
While Embiid said he didn’t think the Harden situation ever distracted the 76ers, he added that it wasn’t his place to discuss what potential moves could take place or what Philadelphia would get back in the deal – a combination of two draft picks, a trade of draft picks and forwards Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris Sr. and KJ Martin.
Instead, he said the front office needed to take care of it.
“That’s not my job,” Embiid said. “My only job is to try to win. I just want to make that clear. I just want to be in the best position to win.”
“I will always believe in myself anyway. It doesn’t matter who I play with. I love the guys we have. We’re going to fight every night like we did, and we always have a chance to win. But as you can see in the league, once the boys have won it takes a lot and everyone has to do their part. And I believe in our boys.
“But the only thing I care about is winning. That is my focus. I hope we all agree because that’s all I want. The moment we no longer agree, that is a discussion for another day.” . But these guys want to win and we will do our best.”