The Philadelphia 76ers have suffered through their fair share of tough times as they worked to rebuild their squad. But the assets acquired from the Sam Hinkie years in Philly may soon bay the collective fruit of long playoff runs and more. For Sixers fans, today’s state-of-the-team meeting with local media will come as welcome news as the team’s media day and training camp loom next week.
New GM Bryan Colangelo and coach Brett Brown discussed the state of the team, the health of young center Joel Embiid and rookie point guard Ben Simmons and much more. First up, Embiid is on the final year of his rookie contract and is eligible for an extension. Colangelo, for his part, is optimistic about an extension getting done with Embiid before the Oct. 16 deadline.
Embiid has been on the rehab trail ever since and Colangelo said it’s “too early to tell” if Embiid will scrimmage next week, but that the team is happy with his progress so far.
He also has not had a setback since the surgery in late March.
In terms of the rookie Simmons — who missed all of last season with a Jones fracture to his right foot — the signs are equally promising. Both Colangelo and Brown spoke glowingly of Simmons, saying he has been dominating in 5-on-5 games and that there are no limitations on his availability.
He’s also the starting point guard heading into training camp.
As for other players on the team — including versatile returning forwards Dario Saric and Robert Covington, as well as rookie Markelle Fultz — Colangelo and Brown had plenty to say on those topics as well. In short: Covington is expected to start and end games, Saric will fit in “anywhere” he wants and Fultz is still learning the NBA game a bit.
