Former Eagle Hugh Douglas does not appreciate the way Joel Embiid tried to walk back his comments about potentially leaving Philadelphia, claiming he was trolling.
"It's amazing how somebody that has been here for as long as he's been here, still hasn't picked up on the vibe of the city," 94WIP Midday Show co-host Douglas said on Monday. "To sit there and say that you're trolling, when you know you weren't, that's kind of irritating.
"To me, that's not what a grown man does. Now, you're talking about manhood stuff. Since I've been here, he's had ample opportunity to go out and say exactly what he wants to say when he's been in the public, but he plays passive aggressive. That was a passive aggressive move to me, because you know understand—like listen. If you're a Sixer, that should be the only thing coming out of your mouth, not somewhere else knowing that people are listening to everything that you say and everything that this team is going through for you to say it like that, I just feel like that's irresponsible on your part. And if that's how you really feel then be a man and stand on it, just be a man and stand on it if that's how you really feel. If you don't want to be here, don't get on Twitter and try to retract and say, 'I was just playing.'"
“I just want to win a championship," Embiid said last week at the first annual UNINTERRUPTED Film Festival at NeueHouse Hollywood.
"Whatever it takes. I don’t know where that’s going to be. Whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else. I just want to have a chance to accomplish it. I want to see what it feels like to win that first one and then you can think about that next one. It's not easy. It takes more than one, two, three guys. Got to have good people around you. Myself, every single day I work hard to be at that level...Every single day that's working toward that goal, that's where my mindset has always been. MVP is just an added bonus...it's amazing. I know a lot of people take it for granted, but there's not a lot of people that get to have that opportunity to be called the MVP of the league. So I was extremely happy about it, excited about it, but the championship is one thing that I got to work hard for."
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Embiid took to Twitter today after the comments went viral, claiming he was just trolling, but Douglas and his co-host Joe Giglio did not buy it.
Douglas, 51, played for the Eagles from 1998-2002 and was inducted into the Eagles Hall Of Fame. Just a few months ago, the former defensive end joined 94WIP as a co-host of the new Hugh Douglas and Joe Giglio show every weekday from 10am-2pm.
Embiid is literally called "The Process" and has been at the top of the food chain in Philadelphia sports since he was drafted third overall by the Sixers in 2014.
The 29-year-old has continued to ascend throughout his NBA career after an injury-riddled beginning, winning the 2022-23 NBA MVP award, but ultimately the city has begun to question whether or not Embiid can lead a team to a title after losing in the first or second-round of the playoffs in six consecutive seasons.
Embiid is under contract for the next three seasons set to make $47.6 million, $51.4 million, and $55.2 million, respectively, before he has a $59 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
As a team, the Sixers are somewhat stuck with limited assets, and Embiid likely realizes that. This offseason, the team replaced head coach Doc Rivers with Nick Nurse, a move that reportedly "blind sided" Embiid. Furthermore, Embiid's co-star James Harden reportedly wants to be traded, specifically to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia had zero draft picks in this year's NBA Draft.
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