00:00Where is Joel Embiid with the 76ers right now?
00:03I think in a better place now than last season.
00:06I think even before that big ESPN feature that came out during the Sixers offseason last year,
00:13in which Embiid sort of expressed some frustrations with maybe the lack of care with which he had been used,
00:20I think even before that, it was sort of clear that he was frustrated.
00:25And I think part of it is just when you're in a really difficult situation that's much worse than the
00:30one you used to be in.
00:32I think you grow frustrated with everything around you, and I think that was part of it.
00:36But I think Embiid pretty clearly sort of wields a lot of power in terms of when he's playing, when
00:43he's not.
00:44And now that he's taken this more, I don't know if conservative is the best word,
00:49but we'll call it a more conservative approach with when he's out there.
00:55Certainly more conscious of the way that injuries pile up over the course of a season.
01:02I think he's in a better place as far as his relationship with the team and that whole working relationship.
01:09He has gone out of his way to credit the team's medical staff.
01:14Simon Rice, who's their vice president of Athlete Care, is someone that Embiid works with extremely closely,
01:20and Embiid has made a point to shout him out.
01:23You know, when it felt like basically everyone had given up on me,
01:27he was always still trying to come up with ways to get me back on the floor and looking right.
01:31And so is the relationship perfect?
01:34Probably not.
01:35I'm not sure it ever has been.
01:36I'm not sure it was ever realistic to expect it to be at any point.
01:40But I think it's in a better place now, and I think Embiid is happier with the teammates that he
01:46has around him.
02:10I think it's in a better place now.
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