“I don’t even know if I’m going to be here. Whatever happens, happens.” The words landed like a eulogy. Joel Embiid delivered them quietly, his five-year-old son perched on his lap, after the Philadelphia 76ers were swept out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the New York Knicks – four games to none.

No eruption. No finger-pointing. Just a man who looked like he had already made peace with something the rest of Philadelphia wasn’t ready to hear. Just a few weeks after being the hero of an improbable first-round comeback against the Boston Celtics, the franchise icon and former MVP calmly fielded questions about his future with the team.

Despite being just 32 years old (less than half the expected lifespan of a modern human being), Embiid carries himself with the calmness and wisdom of a sage master. How could he not? Since being drafted by the 76ers in 2014, Embiid has endured the trials and tribulations of being the best player on a team in an unforgiving sports town, the tragic loss of a loved one, and enough injuries to make any regular human give up. Embiid’s life experience far exceeds his age.

That is why, for the first time in his career, Embiid knows it isn’t a guarantee that he returns to the 76ers for a 13th season. Even with his massive box-score production, the ongoing questions about his availability make the three-year, $188 million extension that kicks in next season unconscionable. And after the team dismissed Daryl Morey and brought in celebrated executive Bob Myers to oversee basketball operations, it is obvious that changes are coming.

Trade rumors are going to follow Embiid all offseason long. However, today’s front offices are more informed than ever. No one is lining up to take on that gargantuan contract. It will take an equally bad contract – and frankly, a vulnerable brain trust – to offload Embiid. That is what makes this recent rumor very intriguing.

Embiid For Domantas Sabonis

If you didn’t get the hint from the last paragraph, I am alluding to a potential deal with the Sacramento Kings involving Domantas Sabonis. In a recent addition to his Substack with Marc Stein, Jake Fischer mentioned a swap between the two All-NBA bigs as a long-shot possibilit. Wwhen you really think about it, this makes about as perfect sense as possible given the messiness of all this.

Sabonis is in the middle of a massive four-year, $186 million deal (albeit with one year less left than Embiid). And given his glaring limitations (he’s a poor defender at a position where defense is paramount, and he also can’t credibly space the floor on offense), the chances of Sabonis ever living up to his salary are unlikely. He is also coming off his worst season since joining the Kings, finally lost his Iron Man label, and just recently joined the 30 club. Sabonis also plays for a team that is notorious for making questionable, short-sighted moves. So, if anyone is going to be a trade partner for Embiid, it is probably going to be them.

The two parties can quibble over the intricacies of a deal like this (and whether a third party should come into the mix), but something like this works for both sides.

This trade can not be completed as is. The 76ers would need to send out a little more salary to make it all work, but you get the general idea here. Embiid for Sabonis, Malik Monk is added as a slight negative-value contract to make the money work for the Kings, and Philadelphia throws in some first-round draft capital to sweeten the pot (since Embiid is being paid more, is older, and has one extra year left on his contract).

Why It Makes Sense

For the 76ers, this move allows them to leave behind the lingering baggage of the Embiid era in favor of a player with a far more reliable availability record. Although Sabonis only appeared in 19 games last season, he played at least 70 in each of the previous three years. In contrast, Embiid has never reached the 70-game mark in a single regular season.

Sabonis also helps to solidify Tyrese Maxey as the team’s marquee offensive player. Sabonis doesn’t carry the same star capital that Embiid does, and you don’t need to worry about appeasing his offensive appetite with post and elbow touches (something that really bogged down the 76ers in Game 3 against the Knicks).

In fact, Sabonis is adept at operating as the hub of the very quick-hitting dribble handoff and chase actions that Maxey thrives in. Sabonis’ defensive limitations as a vertical paint protector will hurt Philadelphia’s defense.

But he has also never played next to a power forward with Paul George’s combination of size, secondary rim protection, shooting, and ball handling. If George can continue the form he showed this postseason, the two could be a match made in heaven.

On the flip side, Monk gives you a more expensive version of Jared McCain, who fans have been missing since Morey infamously traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder. While his contract isn’t the biggest bang for your buck (he’ll make $20.2 million next year), the hit is mitigated by the relief of no longer having Embiid on the books, and Monk is a great innings-eater behind Maxey whose shown the ability to be effective in the playoffs.

This deal makes a little less sense for the Kings, but their roster doesn’t really make much sense as currently constructed anyway. At the very least, Embiid gives the Kings the closest thing to an MVP-caliber player since Chris Webber was in uniform.

And as he showed us against the Celtics, he is still quite the two-way force when he is healthy, in a manner that Sabonis has never been able to achieve.

Plus, with the NBA’s latest attempt to extinguish tanking, it makes sense for the Kings to try to reinvent their roster to remain competitive around the offensive-centric duo of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. And on top of all that, they acquire some much-needed draft capital, and get out of having to pay Monk his $21.6 million player option in 2027-28.

Of course, both teams will have to endure some dangerous tradeoffs. Sabonis significantly lowers the 76ers ceiling for the next two years, and parting ways with precious draft assets won’t bring them any closer to building a true winner around Maxey.

For the Kings, Embiid is probably never going to make it through a full season with his body in reasonable standing. When he is out there, he will be taking away repetitions from intriguing young bigs Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell.

Still, the current situations aren’t great, either. We’ve seen the limitations of both these supporting casts with their current man in the middle. Everyone involved would be better off with a change of scenery, a new chance to rewrite their current legacies.

In many ways, the 76ers and Kings are like the two least appealing people at a social gathering. Both desperate for love and limited in options to find it.

Ultimately, it is in their best interest to partner up and ride off into the sunset. Maybe an Embiid/Sabonis trade will lead to a happy ending for all these heartbroken parties.