Amid a disappointing start to the season for star center Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers, an NBA insider shined some light on the franchise's previous attempts to avoid this current predicament.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, "The team and Embiid had sought half a dozen medical opinions before signing him to a three-year, $192.7 extension this September, sources said, and all of those consulted believed his knee could be adequately managed by a combination of strategic rest and procedures to promote healing, which Embiid has been regularly undergoing since last season."

Shelburne added that sources said both the Sixers and Embiid "hoped his troublesome knee would be healthy enough to start the season," but things obviously have not gone as planned.

Embiid sat out the start of the 2024-25 season due to left knee injury management and has played sporadically since his season debut. When he's been on the court, he's performed well below his MVP level with averages of 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in four games. It's his first time averaging under 20 points in his career and his first time averaging less than 10 rebounds since his first year in 2016-17.

Thanks to Embiid's frequent absences and injuries to other key players like Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers are off to a 3-13 start to the season, the second-worst record in the league. George, who signed a four-year deal with Philadelphia this offseason after starring for the Los Angeles Clippers, is sidelined for the second time this year with a knee injury. Maxey recently returned from a hamstring injury, but the team has still struggled to get back on track.

The Sixers were hoping to manage Embiid throughout the year to help him be healthy for the playoffs, but they need to avoid digging themselves further into an early-season hole that could hurt their title hopes.

Philadelphia will be back in action on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets (13-6).