NBA fines Philadelphia 76ers $100K for "inconsistent" statements on Joel Embiid's status
The NBA fined the Philadelphia 76ers $100,000 on Tuesday for public statements that were "inconsistent" with the status of Joel Embiid's health.
According to the NBA, the league's investigation found that Embiid has been unable to play in the regular season so far due to a "left knee condition, which wouldn't violate the league's Player Participation Policy. The league started an investigation into the Sixers last week due to Embiid's player participation.
Embiid has missed Philadelphia's first three games of the regular season with what the Sixers called "left knee management." On Tuesday, the Sixers ruled out Embiid and the team's prized free agent signing, Paul George, for Wednesday night's game against the Detroit Pistons. It will be the fourth straight game the pair will miss.
Embiid and George each practiced on Tuesday and their playing status will be reevaluated later in the week. But Sixers head coach Nick Nurse declined to elaborate on the duo's return to the lineup.
"We want these guys to play and we want them to be healthy and we want them to play great and we want them to play great all season," Nurse said following practice. "Then my main focus is, I've got to do the job that I've got to do. I've got to try to get this team to play as good as it can tomorrow night. That takes a big chunk of my focus."
The Sixers picked up their first win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday thanks to Tyrese Maxey's 45 points, but it's been a rocky start to the season with Embiid and George sidelined.
Despite not playing yet this season, Embiid picked up a technical foul after he waved a towel during overtime in the win over Indiana.
Embiid had a busy summer and won the gold medal with Team USA in the Paris Olympics and signed a $193 million contract extension before training camp. The 30-year-old was limited to 39 games last season because of knee surgery. In his career, he's never played more than 68 games in a season.
George is recovering after he hyperextended his left knee in a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. An MRI showed a bone bruise but no structural damage in the knee.
After Wednesday, Philadelphia's next game will be on Saturday night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.