Joel Embiid’s grievances with the Philadelphia 76ers continue to pile up.
The 76ers star Embiid was not happy with the team over the February decision to trade away guard Jared McCain, Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on Monday. Jones notes that Embiid particularly disagreed with how the 76ers traded McCain without getting back a replacement player and that other Philadelphia players were unhappy about the move as well.
McCain, still only 22, was the 76ers’ first-round pick in 2024 (No. 16 overall). He had a standout rookie year in Philly (averaging 15.3 points per game) but struggled with injuries over the next couple of seasons.
Ahead of the Feb. 2026 trade deadline, the 76ers pulled the plug on McCain and sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a 2026 first-round draft pick (at No. 22) and three second-round picks. But McCain has since thrived with the Thunder, averaging 10.4 points a game even in a largely limited role due to Oklahoma City’s absurd depth.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia was doomed by a lack of depth themselves (particularly behind guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe) and just got swept in the second round by the New York Knicks. Clearly, Embiid and other players feel like the 76ers could have used a bit more patience with the still-developing McCain.
Now looking ahead to the offseason, it will be interesting to see how salvageable the relationship still is between Embiid and the 76ers. We have already been hearing for more than a year now that Embiid has had some notable tensions with the organization over a number of issues.
