Pierce thinks the 76ers should trade Embiid this off-season: “The process is over there…that sh—t is over with” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Hall of Famer Paul Pierce has been very clear about his stand on the Philadelphia 76ers. As early as November last year, when rumors of a spat between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey broke out, The Truth said that the Sixers needed to blow it up because they have tried to win with Embiid for almost 10 years now, but they don’t have a championship to show for it.
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During the recent episode of the “Ticket and the Truth” podcast, Pierce and co-host Kevin Garnett discussed where Kevin Durant should go this summer. KG also mentioned a possible collaboration involving Embiid, Durant, and Maxey in Philly. However, Paul reiterated that the Sixers must move on from their MVP center.
“The process is over,” said Pierce. “This sh–t is over with. That sh–t, that Frankenstein, take him off the thing and let him get out of here; it’s over. He needs fresh air.”
Time to pull the plug on the Embiid experiment
Joel was the Sixers’ 3rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, so if you count his first two years, which he sat out due to injury, it’s been 11 years with Embiid in Philly, and their trophy case is still empty. And we don’t just mean no championships for the 76ers.
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With the superstar center at the helm, the Sixers have never won the Eastern Conference. In fact, Embiid’s teams have never made it past the second round of the playoffs, with three Game 7 losses in the East semifinals. Once again, it’s not only that they have not won. They have also tried different things during Joel’s tenure.
First, they paired him with Ben Simmons, but that didn’t work. Next, they brought James Harden, but that still did not lead to success. Last season, they brought in Paul George to join Embiid and rising star Maxey. The results were no different.
To be fair, it’s not only Joel who is at fault. He’s achieved tremendous individual success in Philly and even won MVP honors in 2023. But it’s clear that, as Pierce put it, the “Process” is over, and even Embiid needs a fresh start like Victor Frankenstein pulling the plug on his monster experiment.
Houston’s success this season was “fool’s gold”
When Garnett asked Pierce where he thinks Embiid should go for “fresh air,” Paul talked about the Houston Rockets. The Truth said that while Houston is coming off a successful campaign where they finished second behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference team standings, he says that was not indicative of the real situation in H-Town.
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“Houston as No.2 in the West last year was fool’s gold. You were two games from being in the 8th slot…Who’s the superstar there in Houston that can carry you? Nobody. They got fringe All-Stars. I’ma get a bonafide MVP player and build around that,” explained Paul.
Pierce agrees that the Rockets have a terrific young core, but because they are too young, they need a legitimate superstar to really carry the team to postseason success. He thinks that a healthy Embiid, who is still only 31 years old, is the right guy for them. To do that, Paul said the Rockets could offer Alperen Sengun and Jabari Parker while keeping Jalen Green and Amen Thompson.
However, a recent report from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer said that the Sixers plan to give the current iteration of their team one last chance to contend for a title after their “Big 3” appeared in only 15 games together due to injuries this past season. So, whether the Rockets or any team has an interest in Embiid, they may have to wait at least one more year to submit their offers.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.