Joel Embiid And James Harden now respond to each other via media. At the end of his match against the Raptors (28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists), the Sixers pivot expressed his disagreement with the first statements of his former teammatejust arrived at the Clippers, after a series of several months.
“ I’m not a system player, I’m a system “, declared the bearded man in particular, considering that he had been “ flange » in Philadelphia last season. “ I don’t think so, I think he did a lot of good things for us “, replies the reigning MVPwhose former teammate finished as the league’s best passer, while also scoring some big hits in the playoffs.
“ In my opinion, we gave him the ball every possession, because he is really good. He’s an extraordinary player. We clearly gave him the ball as he is a very good passer. We gave him the ball every time so he could do what he had to do. And from there he had to make decisions to find open players or play for him », Details Joel Embiid.
James Harden’s sacrifices
The three-time top scorer in the league, who had a string of seasons averaging more than 30 points in Houston, had completed his “moult” that began a little earlier in Brooklyn. Namely sliding towards a more conventional playmaker position, initially occupied by creation and distribution, but still capable of taking responsibility in attack when necessary.
During his introductory press conference, James Harden thinks he has been “ flange » during his stay in Pennsylvania. And having made sacrifices in and out of the game.
“ Take $26 million less by signing and make the team better. Change my role, which, according to the media, is to dominate with the ball in hand. But changing my role, trying to change the narrative, sacrifice myself and do whatever it takes to win at the highest level. We don’t talk about it », annoys the bearded man.
The latter claims to have left Brooklyn with the idea of retiring with a 76ers jersey on his back. “ But the leaders had other plans. They didn’t want me. […] A lot has been said and people think they have an opinion. […] But none of this is true “, he assures.
League’s best scorer and passer
Preferring to stay in the game alone, Joel Embiid has a different vision of things. “ I think he did a really good job of getting us on track offensively, distributing and opening up space for others. This is why he won the title of best passer last year », recalls the one who benefited from the caviars of the left-hander on the “pick-and-roll”, to the point of becoming himself the best scorer in the league.
This feedback will not change anything in the very mixed results that emerge from their association of a season and a half. The 76ers reached the conference semifinals twice, but were unable to go further. Their journey ended last year with a heavy disappointment on the Celtics floor, during Game 7.
The two men will now move forward separately. The future “Team USA” player, who had already experienced similar complications with Ben Simmons, said he was relieved that the situation finally resolved with this transfer. He also says “ happy » for his former teammate.
Convinced they could have won
“ I hope he gets a chance to succeed, make a lot of money, play good basketball and win. And I hope we both make it to the final, but he’ll be on the losing side and we’ll be on the winning side “, wishes the remaining pivot “ persuaded » that their duo could have led the Sixers to the title.
James Harden is no longer there and the Philadelphia franchise received Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris and KJ Martin in return. But while other exchanges could occur between now and next spring, Joel Embiid recalls that his main mission is “ to try to win “.
“ I want to make it clear: I want to be in the best possible position to win. Either way, I will always believe in myself. It doesn’t matter who I play with. I like the guys we have […], I believe in them. But the only thing that matters to me is winning. It’s my priority. I hope we’re all on the same page, because that’s all I want. If we’re not on the same page, we’ll talk about that another day. But these guys want to win and we’re going to do our best “, promises Joel Embiid.
