A: The Eastern Conference is wide-open, thanks mainly to the Achilles tendon injuries of Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. With Tatum out, the 2024 NBA champions made drastic roster moves and underwent a semi-rebuild to get under the second luxury-tax apron.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mannix’s NBA Notebook: Joel Embiid Health Watch, Dylan Harper’s Surge. This first appeared in Sports Illustrated’s Open Floor newsletter, a free, twice-weekly newsletter. Subscribe now.

Guys like Bona and Broome will certainly benefit from being around a guy like Embiid. The two young bigs can step in and learn from one of the top players in the league and the Sixers have to hope they can soak up any knowledge they can and, most importantly, ask questions.

While many teams have lost players to long-term injuries, few will welcome back key players to their roster after an underwhelming 2024-25 season. With that said, here are three players poised for a big comeback in 2026, including Joel Embiid.

The talented Big 3 of the Philadelphia 76ers has been placed in the tier of changing the core ahead of the new season.

76ers trade proposal sends Joel Embiid to rebuilding Eastern Conference team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The are coming off their worst season since the 2015-16 campaign, finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 24-58 record.

Joel Embiid boldly stated that the success of the Philadelphia 76ers depends on unity and consistency, regardless of injuries.

According to Andrew Hanlon of Pippen Ain't Easy, a potential trade of Vucevic for Embiid would shake up the NBA. Bleacher Report reporter Andy Bailey referred to it as “ a gargantuan risk “. That is because Embiid is injury-prone, as evidenced by his recent battle with a serious knee injury.

This changing of the guard in the East has been in progress for several years now, but 2025-26 could be the season that cements it. The conference has been dominated by four teams for most of the 2020s: the Celtics, Bucks, Heat, and 76ers. Well, Boston is out of the picture, at least temporarily, due to Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury.

The New York Knicks face the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA preseason opener at a neutral site. Fans are eager to see how their teams and stars look, and it raises one big question: Will Jalen Brunson suit up for the Knicks,