LeBron, energized by sleep, puts up triple-double

Joel Embiid has had an injury plagued 24-25 season and expects to undergo surgery on his knee this offseason. Because the Sixers signed Embiid to a three-year, $193 million extension before the season, he has gone from perennial MVP candidate to being on one of the riskiest contracts in the NBA.

“Yes, absolutely,” said Brian Windhorst when asked if the Sixers have a Joel Embiid problem. “Because, I know that people would like this to be a cut and dry issue, you either need surgery or you don’t. That’s not necessarily clear here. He has seen a number of specialists. There isn’t a clear path on how to resolve this issue. He’s still playing obviously. They’ve got him playing. If they thought he needed knee surgery, trust me, the Sixers would have dealt with it. He’s playing right now.

“And he signed this $193 million contract extension. He’s under contract now for five more years for $300 million. They have to get this right. And right now, they have no option. They have to figure this out.”

If the Sixers even wanted to move on from Embiid, they likely would be able to trade him. The New York Knicks were one of the teams long connected to a trade for Embiid, but they cycled through their tradeable assets last year for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“He’s not tradeable right now,” added Windhorst. “That contract makes his value not realistic. And just on Friday, Daryl Morey coming out of the trade deadline still reaffirm ‘We think he’s a top-five player. We don’t regret signing Paul George.’

“The future going forward is around Joel Embiid, so he’s double, triple, quadruple down on it. And he really has to because that contract makes it impossible. They have to figure out a way to get him right. Trust me, they’re trying. They are seeking all kinds of Alternatives trying to make it happen.”

The Milwaukee Bucks have shown interest in Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. The Bucks are reportedly looking for additional perimeter help. The Bulls have continued to make LaVine available, despite reports that LaVine would now prefer to remain in Chicago for the rest of this season.

The Bucks have also been linked to Bradley Beal of the Phoenix Suns. That would possibly come as part of a deal that lands Jimmy Butler in Phoenix. The Bulls were also said to have some interest in Beal, but the veteran guard has reportedly made it known that he would not approve a trade to Chicago.

In a deal that sends LaVine to Milwaukee, the Bucks would likely have to trade a combination of Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton to match salary. Milwaukee is facing the complication of needing to finish a trade by getting under the second apron in order to aggregate player salaries in a deal. That means a multi-team trade could be the easiest path to bringing a high-salary star to the Bucks.