Joel Embiid Drops Honest Admission About Daryl Morey's Plan For 76ers

There has been a renewed energy emanating from Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers since the team landed All-Star forward Paul George. But Embiid admitted Sunday that his optimism about the team wasn't exactly high prior to George's arrival.

The 76ers signed George to a four-year max contract last week, giving Embiid his first All-Star forward co-star since the team had Jimmy Butler in 2019.

Embiid spoke to ESPN's Tim Bontemps on Sunday about where his head was at before his 76ers landed George. The former NBA MVP said that while Sixers president Daryl Morey preached patience, Embiid's patience was slowly running out.

"I'd be lying to say that patience wasn't tested," Embiid admitted. "Because I'm at the point where there's no awards, there's no regular season or no All-NBA or All-Stars is going to change the way my legacy is. Well, there's a few things that can change it, but the main one is the championship. So when you start thinking about what you want to be remembered as, you want to be remembered as someone that's won.

"When you are presented with a plan, sometimes it goes wrong, sometimes it goes right."

Embiid added that the team still has "a long way to go" toward making good on the potential that the team has on paper.

Morey has shuffled through several Embiid running mates over the past several years. Butler, James Harden and Ben Simmons didn't work out for one reason or another. With both George and Maxey in his corner, next season is arguably Embiid's best chance at a title in his decade-long career.

At 30 years old and with an MVP trophy already in his cabinet, the only thing left for Embiid to cement his legacy is a championship ring.

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