Sixers fined $100,000 for public statements about Embiid’s status originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The NBA has been fined $100,000 for how the Sixers handled Joel Embiid’s rather murky injury status.
The league announced the fine on Tuesday for “public statements, including by president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse, that were inconsistent with Joel Embiid’s health status and in violation of NBA rules, including the league’s Player Participation policy.”
The NBA also noted that an investigation “confirmed that Embiid was unable to play in the 76ers’ regular season games this season due to a left knee condition, and therefore his missed games did not violate the Player Participation Policy.”
After sitting out the Sixers’ entire preseasonEmbiid will miss the Sixers’ fourth regular-season game Wednesday night against the Pistons with a “left knee injury management.”
Starting at the Sixers’ media day on Sept. 30, the team went public emphasized getting Embiid to the playoffs as healthy as possible.
“We’re going to be really smart about this,” Morey said. “We are focusing on April, May, June. It doesn’t mean the team doesn’t matter now either, but we’ll be very smart about how we manage him during the season. There will be plenty of information as we figure out how everything works with the entire roster.
“But with Joel specifically… we actually have quite a few guys that we think we have to be smart about how we manage them throughout the season, while still maintaining a high level of play, and keep our eye on the prize while we do that.”
When news comes that Embiid will miss the Sixers’ regular season opener, Nurse said the seven-time All-Star experienced “no setbacks.”
“He’s been practicing, he’s looking good, he’s making progress,” Nurse said on Oct. 22. “He’s not quite ready yet. He’ll be ready soon enough.”
A nurse on Tuesday did not answer specific questions about Embiid’s injury. A Sixers official said both Embiid and Paul George (left knee bone bruise) participated in portions of practice and will be reevaluated later in the week.
Embiid missed February and March of last season as he recovered from a left lateral meniscus injury. He returned for the final two weeks of the regular season and the playoffs, then joined Team USA basketball for the summer and won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
In April, the NBA fined the Sixers $100,000 for violating league injury reporting rules before Embiid’s first game back.
