Should the Knicks Pursue Joel Embiid for a Title Run?

The Knicks season has only been over for two days, but people are already speculating about what big moves they could make for the 2023-24 season.

On Monday morning, Bill Simmons published a new episode of his podcast and was speculating on the paths forward for the 76ers after being eliminated by the Celtics on Sunday. While Simmons admitted that he didn’t have any inside info, he speculated that one possibility is that Joel Embiid asks out after his inability to get Philadelphia to a championship over the last few years.

“Knicks just waiting for Embiid to say ‘time for me to go’…It would basically be like [the Suns] w/ [Kevin Durant]: ‘Oh you want Bridges & Cam & four 1sts & a swap? Great’…”

For New York, their version of the trade would be something like Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and four first-round picks, or maybe even Quickley, Julius Randle, and a collection of first-round picks.

That’s quite the haul to give up for any player, but the reigning MVP is not usually a player who comes on the market for a trade. It would certainly take a deal of this magnitude for Philadelphia to even consider moving Embiid, even if he does ask to be moved.

Simmons went on to speculate that the Knicks would make sense as a trade destination for Embiid since “They have Leon & Wes…his guys.”

Leon Rose and William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley, the two men Simmons is referring to, are former business partners who both joined the Knicks front office in 2020. Rose was Embiid’s agent while he was at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) before accepting the job with the Knicks, and many believe the two have a strong enough relationship that Embiid would like to be reunited with his former agent.

But does a trade for Embiid even make sense for the Knicks?

On the surface, adding a player of Embiid’s caliber is something any team would want. This season, he averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals en route to his MVP win. He was the second-best center in basketball by WAR, according to RAPTOR, trailing only Nikola Jokic, and was the third-best defensive center in the league, behind Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez.

However, Embiid, like Randle, also performed below expectations in the playoffs. He averaged 23.7 points on 43.1% shooting while chipping in 9.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game.

The talent is unquestioned, but Embiid’s fit on the Knicks is less clear.

While he is certainly an upgrade over Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks were one of the best rebounding teams in the league this season and allowed the fewest points per game in the paint of any team in the NBA. Interior defense is not a need for New York. They could certainly use a center with a more diverse offensive game, but Embiid shot 33% from beyond the arc this year, so his presence doesn’t really fix the Knicks’ issues with floor spacing.

Embiid is also a ball-dominant scorer, taking 20 shots per game this year. If the Knicks were to bring him in while also keeping Randle and Jalen Brunson around, there would simply not be enough shots to go around. Add to that the criticisms of Embiid’s mental toughness and ability to make big plays in the postseason and adding him to a team that already includes Randle seems like a poor idea.

Now, if Philadelphia was willing to take back Julius Randle in the deal, and his salary, then the fit would be a little bit more easy to envision for New York since they could fill Randle’s spot in the starting lineup with a floor-spacing option.

At the end of the day, Embiid asking for a trade is a long shot, so playing out this scenario may be foolish, but as far as silly season rumors goes, this is one that might actually be less appealing for the Knicks than it appears at first glance.

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