3 Red flags Knicks must consider before going all-in on Joel Embiid trade

May 9, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks at the scoreboard in the second half during game five of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
May 9, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks at the scoreboard in the second half during game five of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
2 of 3
New York Knicks, Philadelphia Sixers, Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia Sixers. (Photo by Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports) – New York Knicks

2: Injury history

Joel Embiid is seven feet tall with a 280-pound frame, so the idea of him playing all 82 games in a regular season is a far-fetched dream. The load management concept was explicitly created for players like Embiid.

In 2022-23, he played in 66 regular season games, but he sprained his right knee on April 20 and didn’t return to the lineup until Game 2 of the Sixers’ first-round series against the Nets.

Embiid a little over a game and a half before injuring his knee again late in Game 3, and he was out for Game 4. At that point, Philadelphia had a comfortable 3-0 lead over Brooklyn, and his injury didn’t prevent the Sixers from sweeping the Nets. Embiid did miss Game 1 of the second round against the Celtics, but Philadelphia managed to win without him.

The Knicks have likely already thought about the center’s durability, but it’d be a dagger if the team traded for Embiid only for him to be forced to miss postseason games due to injury. The Knicks will have to give up a chunk of their depth to get Embiid, so it’d be harder to replace him if he were sidelined.

The good news is that Embiid has missed a combined 30 regular season games in the past two seasons, but injuries will become even more of a concern as he gets older.