Joel Embiid has been very straight forward and public about his health and the condition of his body.

He opened up to the media after their blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, and revealed he will never be back to his normal self until this knee injury gets corrected.

“The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I’m playing right now,” Embiid said after the loss to Boston. “It sucks. … I probably need to fix the problem, and then I’ll be back at that level. But it’s hard to have trust when you’re not yourself.”

Embiid said the time off before and during the All-Star break helped “a little bit”, but that he’s “still managing it” with his knee. The former MVP said that he plans to keep playing, because he thinks he can still have a positive impact for the Sixers.

“I’m not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t have a lot of impact on the game,” Embiid said. “Just me being out there, I think, helps a lot. My presence, my ability to attract double-teams, get guys more shots.

“It’s just tough because you know you can do so much more. But there’s no excuses. It’s just the way it is. You just have to find ways to figure it out and get better.”

The 30-year-old has managed to only play 18 games this season. He played just 39 games last season, as the most games he’s ever played in a season was 68 (2021-22).

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Miami Heat’s relationship with Jimmy Butler is officially destroyed and torn down without repair.

Butler had a face-to-face meeting with Pat Riley and told him there would not be any circumstance in which he signed an extension with Miami. He’s expressed his desire to leave the Heat via trade.

The only scenario where the 35-year-old would opt into his $52 million player option would be to use it as a trading asset.

For Miami, they must figure out what to do with him after his suspension. For those wondering, his suspension ends on Thursday. The Heat play the Denver Nuggets on Friday at home.

Reports have said Butler will return to the Heat if no trade is agreed upon or found. There is a feeling around the league that the talented veteran will honor the remaining of his contract if no trade is found, and he will leave in free agency.

As a reminder, Butler prefers a trade to the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, or Houston Rockets. The number one team that wants him is Phoenix.

In 22 games this season, Butler’s averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.

Suns could sign Kevin Love

Suns could sign Kevin Love

Kevin Love has been bought out of his contract by the Cavaliers and many teams have an interest in the 34-year-old big man. Teams such as the Suns, Lakers, and Heat have all been rumored to have an interest.

Phoenix is looking to add one more big man after trading away Dario Saric to the Thunder for Darius Bazley; they currently have one roster spot remaining and it is being said that the Suns would use their prorated Taxpayer Midlevel Exception to sign Love. That would ultimately beat out the Heat financially as they could only use their prorated veteran minimum contract.

Plus, Ish Wainright’s two-way contract has expired due to him playing all eligible games under that contract. The reason, why Wainright is being brought up in conversation, is due to the fact that the Suns may have to choose between him and Love. Something a lot of fans are speculating.

With that being said, Phoenix will have a crucial decision to make as after that decision they’ll have their playoff-ready roster. James Jones may add him because of his added value coming off the bench, despite the poor season he has had, and that both were teammates back in Jones’s playing days.

CourtSideHeat will continue to monitor and update you all on this situation.