Much Like The New Arena, Joel Embiid Was Never Going To Leave Philadelphia And Signs A New 3-Year $193M Contract Extension With The Sixers
The relationship between the city of Philadelphia and the Sixers' organization seems to be a little...fractured at the moment. It's been hard to think about the actual team on the floor over the last few weeks while all the arena talk has taken the forefront. You've got fans mad at ownership for a plethora of reasons right now.
But when you move past ownership being a bunch of conniving weasels and shift your focus back onto the team, there's reason to get back in on this team. I mean sure, they've let us down repeatedly year after year of not being able to make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. Sure, they've underachieved massively and are beyond frustrating sometimes with the way they just completely fall apart. But Tyrese Maxey continues to be one of the most exciting young players on the rise to stardom in the league. Paul George is here to hopefully wipe away any memory we'll ever have of Tobias Harris. And as polarizing as Joel Embiid can be at times, it's always special to see an athlete come to this city and truly want to spend their entire career in Philadelphia.
Some guys might say they want to spend their whole career here, but they just don't have what it takes to back those claims up with their actions. This city has seen countless cowards come and go. Some guys actually do mean it, like Claude Giroux for example, but for one reason or another the city has to let them go. But for someone of Joel Embiid's caliber to come to this city as a kid from Cameroon, win an MVP, grow up (a bit) as a man and father, win an Olympic gold medal, and now sign another contract to make sure he's in Philly for the rest of his career? Well for a city that constantly gets shit on by clueless fans around the country as being a place where athletes don't want to play, that means a lot. Joel Embiid is officially #OneOfUs, for better or for worse.
At this point, a championship is going to be the deciding factor on Embiid's legacy in Philadelphia. Obviously the man will be known as a god in this city if he brings a championship here over these next few years. But even if that doesn't work out, I think it'll be impossible to consider him a disappointment. He has constantly kept Philadelphia relevant since he came into the league, he won an MVP, he's at least given everyone reason to have some hope heading into every year, and he's stuck with this team his whole career. So I think a championship will make him a god, but even without winning a championship he should be considering a legend who just didn't fully deliver.
@JordieBarstool