PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers have ruled Joel Embiid out of Wednesday’s game against New York as the club manages soreness in his right knee, according to ESPN. The matchup is Philadelphia’s final contest before the All-Star break.
The reigning MVP experienced discomfort after Saturday’s victory in Phoenix and skipped Monday’s loss in Portland. Although the pain has lessened, the Sixers will keep Embiid in treatment and reassess him once the league resumes play.
Grimes Appreciates No-Trade Protection
Guard Quentin Grimes, who accepted a one-year qualifying offer last summer, said the resulting no-trade clause has brought peace of mind this season.
“That made it a little easier to go to bed at night, knowing that I’m not going to wake up and find out that I’m somewhere that I don’t want to be,” Grimes told EssentiallySports. “My agent can call me and relay a proposal from another team that I have to give an OK toward. It was a little bit of a win-win for me.”
Raptors See Ingram’s All-Star Nod as Validation
Toronto executives and coaches view Brandon Ingram’s first All-Star appearance with the Raptors as confirmation they were right to trade for and extend him last season despite his injury history in New Orleans.
“From the moment he came to our team, the amount of work and preparation he put in was incredible,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said, per SportsNet. “He had a really hard summer—lots of recovery, a lot of boring exercises. That he’s only missed two games is a testament to that work.”
Ingram has played in 52 of the club’s 54 outings and leads Toronto in scoring.
Nets Quietly High on Sharpe
Second-year center DayRon Sharpe owns the best net rating among Brooklyn regulars and ranks inside the league’s top 10 in offensive rebounds and steals per 100 possessions, the New York Post reports.
The Nets hold a $6.5 million team option on Sharpe for the 2026-27 season, but internal discussions have begun about declining that option to negotiate a longer-term contract sooner.
The 22-year-old has become, in the words of one team staffer, “quietly productive” and “quietly valuable.”
Source: Hoops Wire
