Jerry Colangelo provides Joel Embiid surgery update

Sixers special advisor Jerry Colangelo spoke on the SiriusXM Radio show last night. He began with news about Joel Embiid’s lingering health issues. He said:

And fortunately the news about his recent surgery on his knee, it was much more minor than it could’ve been. And so, you know, the anticipation is that he will go through the normal healing process and we’re hopeful that he will be at full bore going into next year’s training camp.

The elder Colangelo also said that when healthy, Embiid is a “very, very special package” as a player.

On the topic of forward Dario Saric, Colangelo had nothing but praise for the rookie:

But Saric, I saw before he was signed by Philly and I saw him in Rio more importantly during the Olympics. And I saw him as a contributor, a potential rotation guy but the year he’s had he’s much better than that. Not blessed with great athletic ability but he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s hungry, he plays below the rim, but he knows how to play the game. And he’s much better than anticipated in my mind and with a healthy Simmons next year, a high pick, and maybe, who knows, a free agent, that is yet to be determined, I think Philly can make a big jump next year.

When asked about which of the Sixers’ two rookie success stories was more deserving of the Rookie of the Year award, Colangelo hedged his bets a bit, saying that Embiid and Saric should be “co-Rookies of the Year,” a feat that has occurred four times in league history, most recently in 2000 with the Clippers’ Elton Brand and the Rockets’ Steve Francis.

A brief audio clip of Colangelo’s radio appearance is available on SoundCloud here.