Report: Joel Embiid Is Ruining The Sixers’ Process One Pitcher Of Shirley Temples At A Time

The Sixers are about to begin season three of general manager Sam Hinkie’s much-discussed Process and so far, right now, this is what they have to show for it: Promising big man Nerlens Noel, highly-touted rookie big man Jahlil Okafor, injury-plagued big man Joel Embiid, the rights to Euro prospect Dario Saric, two giant scoops of upside-y dreamers, and about 60 percent of the picks in the 2016 draft (ballpark estimate). While that’s something, it is not, technically, a cohesive team that is more prepared to compete today than it was when the Process started. Which leads us to a new report in Sports Illustrated that can be summed up in one word: draaaaaaaama.

The report details alleged dissension in the management ranks, with Hinkie’s commitment to acquiring assets running perpendicular to the player development goals of the team’s president and coach (see, trading Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams for a potential high lottery pick), but the real juicy stuff has to do with Embiid. There have been reports and whispers for months now that he’s not being proactive with the rehab for his foot injury, and this does nothing to dispel them. Accusations of physically threatening the team’s strength coach? Check. Refusing to wear his walking boot? Check. Allegedly delaying his second foot surgery so he could party in Vegas during Summer League. Check check check.

But the highlight of the whole thing is this paragraph, regarding his diet.

This type of disregard for instruction also extends to Embiid’s dietary habits. Per a source, the Sixers’ training staff was so concerned about what he was eating, they stocked the refrigerator in his downtown hotel residence each week with healthy food. When a staffer went to restock the fridge each week, most everything was uneaten and unopened, and they were throwing out the fruits and vegetables every week. When the team subsequently asked to see Embiid’s room service bill, they found that most days he was ordering junk food along with his signature beverage, a pitcher of Shirley Temples. Embiid also was frequently seen feasting on chicken fingers and hot dogs at and after games.

Now, let’s pause here to point out that on the list of harmful vices famous 21-year-old millionaires can have, hot dogs and Shirley Temples rank pretty, pretty low. Like at the bottom. And the phrase “a pitcher of Shirley Temples” is also just about the last phrase I expected to see at the end of that sentence. The way the rest of the report was written I was expecting to see, like, “a pitcher of Long Island Iced Teas” or “a pitcher of straight Squishee syrup, like what Bart and Milhouse drank in the one episode of The Simpsons before they started hallucinating.” Could be worse, is my point.

That said… “a pitcher of Shirley Temples“? That is just entirely too many Shirley Temples.

(Via Sports Illustrated)