Great. First LeBron James spurns the Sixers, then the world's most illogical sports personality jinxes Joel Embiid.
With James headed to L.A., the Eastern Conference opens up. We kind of wish Skip Bayless didn't notice, though.
The best player in the East is now Joel Embiid.— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 2, 2018
It prompted a great reaction from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who, if we're being real, is ahead of Embiid right now.
That's all I needed for this summer thank you skip! #Motivation https://t.co/IVWcFRzd4f— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) July 2, 2018
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It does open up an interesting conversation about the top five players currently in the East. Antetokounmpo and Embiid are definitely on the list. Victor Oladipo has put himself in that tier.
John Wall and Kyle Lowry took steps back last season. DeMar DeRozan and Bradley Beal are great, but they're more so one-dimensional scorers. A healthy Kyrie Irving would be in the top five but his future is a bit cloudy.
Quite frankly, a strong case can be made that Ben Simmons is also among the East's top five players.
So as disappointing as James' decision was, it still sets the Sixers up nicely for the future in their own conference.
