Plenty of contrasting views can logically stem with respect to Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. On one hand, the 2022 MVP is one of the most gifted big men in the history of the NBA and continues to be Philadelphia’s biggest hope to potential title contention. On the other, consistent injury issues have till date stopped Embiid from becoming the maverick he can become. Meanwhile, the 76ers have continued to show patience and will hope that Embiid can have a full season next campaign.

However, fans have every right to lose patience, and right now there’s very little motivation for fans to ‘trust The Process.’ The same appears to be true for a variety of analysts, and Lou Williams seemingly is firmly on that list. Back in February, per Basketball Network, Barnes had stated, “You can’t play for us…let me see what I can get for you.” The suggestion was that after years of injury issues, the 76ers should look at the market and find reasonable value.

Barnes was recently on The Underground Lounge when Spank Horton brought up his comments when he had suggested that the 76ers should trade Joel Embiid for someone like Kevin Durant. Lou Williams (who was Kobe’s teammate in his final season) had disagreed then. But in big old 2025, a month from training camp, Williams admitted, “You might have been right on that one. At that time, though, at that time, it was…It sounds ridiculous.”

Matt dove in to confirm that Horton made those comments right after Embiid won MVP in the 2022-23 season. For Spank to have the intuition back when the Sixers handed Embiid a $193 Million extension, Barnes declared, “He’s cold.” But he also saw where the opinion came from. Along with Williams, Barnes agreed with Spank too. “But I heard he just don’t work. And his body is paying the toll for that. They’ve been trusting The Process since I was young. No… I’m 40. I’m 45 now. That Process gone, baby.”

Barnes had gone from the Lakers to Clippers when Embiid was drafted in 2014. He’d retire in 2017, when Embiid got his first nine-figure contract of $148 million. He’s had two extensions since but injuries have kept him from an MVP season again. Over the past two seasons, Joel Embiid has played a grand total of 58 games. During this time, whispers of insubordination wrt training staff, struggles with conditioning and diet, and a reluctance to actually follow rehabilitation programs have firmly gone hand-in-hand with Embiid.

The former Clippers star is the guy who’d take a fully healthy Embiid over Nikola Jokic any day. But now, with Embiid a 31-year-old veteran and no longer the young star the 76ers should show patience with, his approach has firmly changed.

Matt Barnes wants 76ers to figure out their Embiid problem

Last year, Lou Williams said, “You not gonna miss Embiid until you don’t have a 7-foot, 50-point scoring machine in your paint.” Shortly after Joel Embiid’s knee surgery in April, Barnes had suggested that the Sixers should cut their losses. “How long, as great as Embiid is, are they going to ride him for it? F—– we are invested in him his entire career, at some point, are you going to give up and try to start over?”

He’s part of that faction that wants the Sixers to rebuild around Tyrese Maxey. That’s him being realistic. Williams ate his words before Spank Horton right after the Sixers shared images of Embiid working out with a brace.

That doesn’t give Sixers Nation that much hope. But Robert Horry begs to differ. He claimed on his podcast, “In this day and age with a talent like this, a game changer like this, you got to take that chance.” He cited how the Sixers have repeatedly taken that chance on Joel with multiple extensions to claim, “I think there’s a lot of squads out there say, ‘Oh, hell no. We’re going to take that chance and throw that money out there.’”

At this moment, it appears the 76ers are leaning towards Big Shot Bob’s suggestion. They’re hopeful Embiid will be back in shape before training camp, something that he appears to be on track for. There will be the Spanks and Matts who won’t buy it, but fans just want to see The Process playing basketball again.