NBA insiders tease possible Joel Embiid-Knicks pairing: ‘We’ve all heard New York’

Joel Embiid’s recent comments have the sports world playing “Guess Who?”

After the 2023 league MVP made headlines by saying he wants to win a championship, either with Philadelphia or “anywhere else,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Dave McMenamin spoke about Embiid’s future on another team.

McMenamin’s choice for the big man’s new home is just an Amtrak train ride away.

“I mean line up the Acela Express and send him up to New York,” McMenamin said on an episode of Lowe’s The Lowe Post podcast. “That’s been what has been the murmurs. [Lowe] said New York, we’ve all heard New York, we know the connection between Leon Rose and Joel Embiid.

“We also know, quite frankly, that Daryl Morey came into a situation that was largely set up before him and he will continue to craft that team in the fashion that he wants it to look like.

“And Joel Embiid, now that he has the stamp on his resume of being the reigning MVP, he should be applying pressure to make the urgent window exist in this moment for Philadelphia.”

The 29-year-old center has been one of the best players in the league for the last five-plus seasons, and now that he’s in the middle of his prime, the clock is ticking for the 76ers to put a championship contender around him.

But with Philadelphia not making it past the Eastern Conference semifinals in Embiid’s six postseason appearances, some believe the Knicks could be the favorite if he leaves the franchise.

Embiid has been linked to New York for months in large part due to Rose, the Knicks president — who was formerly Embiid’s agent.

The Knicks have been steadily building a winning culture under Rose.

This past season, the team made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals behind guard Jalen Brunson and forward Julius Randle, and adding Embiid to that mix could make New York a true contender.

With the Knicks owning 11 first-round picks between 2024-2030, they would likely have the assets to be a player for Embiid should he demand out of Philadelphia.

A six-time All-Star, Embiid averaged a league-best 33.1 points last season to go along with 10.2 rebounds per night.