While many teams have had their ups and downs this season, the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves mostly on the other downside. While tension has always been brewing inside the organization, it seems like things are starting to get a little bit messy for the Philly squad. As per Kendrick Perkins, it’s that time of year again, and he is firing canons in all directions.
ESPN’s Get Up tweeted a clip of Kendrick Perkins calling out the 76ers President of basketball operations, saying, “Daryl Morey is still lying to the American people this franchise belongs to Joel Embiid when it don’t. This franchise belongs to Tyrese Maxey.” Perkins claims the Sixers GM is not clear with his communication and there is a disconnect between the team’s front office and people.
This is not the first instance that Daryl has been accused of lying. In the past, he has been called out in public most notably by NBA player James Harden. Harden claimed that Morey promised him a max contract extension which he wasn’t offered, after taking a pay cut. In other instances, players like Chris Paul and Gilbert Arenas have also said that the president has not been truthful about his commitments.
.@KendrickPerkins says the Philadelphia 76ers are the biggest disappointment so far this NBA season
“Shut [Joel Embiid] down right now.” pic.twitter.com/gdaYKtK9MW
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 14, 2025
While these accusations are pretty strong, Kendrick remarked others as well saying, “Not only did they go out this off-season and paid Paul George a lot of money to help them get over the hump and come in and help Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but Paul George has been just a role player for this team for some strange reason.”
Perkins is calling out Paul after his declining numbers this month with the most recent being the Nets game where he scored 2 points while playing for 37 minutes. It’s clear that Ken is pretty upset that the Sixers signed a $212 million deal with Geroge, and according to him, the 34-year-old forward takes home an amount close to $50 million for scoring 2 points.
Perkins not only targeted Paul but ignited a discussion about the team’s current state, especially with Embiid and how Morey has been running the team.
Will Daryl Morey take action on Joel Embiid’s situation?
Ken also revealed that he talked about Joel’s injury situation with Daryl Morey during the last year and suggested, “I said that the plan should be shut him down, get put a plan in place, and have him ready for the season.” While Ken says that he suggested the Sixers front office to drop Joel, he publically lauded Daryl’s move when the 76ers extended Embiid’s contract with a $193 deal, praising him as a “bad m———–“ for making this move.
Nov 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers Paul George (R) and Joel Embiid (L) look on during the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Perkins also added, “And here we are again in the same position where Joel Embiid is out there playing injured.” While Embiid currently remains sidelined from the past few games, he has shown performances by scoring 27 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists in his last game against the Raptors. Perkins believes that the 30-year-old center should be traded.
Ken went on to say, “he’s (Joel) gonna probably need another surgery that’s gonna take an extended amount of time” and said, “Shut him down right now.” Morey is clear about his stance with Joel and wants him out of the team. He added, “Get a plan in place so that you could have him ready, fresh and ready to go for the start of next season, and look to see what can you do with Paul George this off-season.”
While Kendrick’s stance is either to trade or bench Joel, the Sixers are pretty clear about what they have wanted. Even with Embiid’s injury, the team is looking forward to the players’ recovery and is still hopeful that they’ll make it to the Championships, probably pulling a win for this season. “We’re building around Joel,” said Daryl on a separate occasion about Embiid.
He added, “We’ve built around Joel. We continue to plan to build around Joel because he’s the special player that can help us win the championship.” While Perkin’s stance has definitely got people talking, especially after the injuries of Joel, George and Maxey. Despite of them being sidelined from the team’s recent games, it’s clear that moving forward the Sixers is counting on Joel and all of their other stars.
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