Mike Muscala Wasn't Very Fond of Joel Embiid as an Opponent

Joel Embiid's new backup wasn't very fond of the Sixers' star center when he wasn't his teammate.

The Sixers will eventually acquire Mike Muscala from the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team trade involving Carmelo Anthony (see story). The trade is not official yet.

As is the case these days with social media, players' old takes resurface and Muscala is no different - except this time, it's not old tweets from a teenaged Muscala.

Appearing on the Road Trippin' podcast (h/t Jeff McMenamin and Pro Basketball Talk) on Feb. 13, 2018, Muscala, then with the Hawks, said the following:

I don't like the Sixers.

I just don't like them. I just feel like they talk a lot of s-, especially Embiid.

I understand there's going to be some trash-talking. But I just feel like - I don't know. Sometimes, I just - I respect players that just let their play do the talking. And I think sometimes, it just gets excessive, especially with Embiid.

I don't think it's a bad thing for the league. I think it's entertaining, and I think people can feed off of that. In a weird way, I respect him for being to do that, because it takes a lot of guts and confidence, at the same time.

One important thing to note here. Muscala and Embiid were not teammates at the time and anyone who has watched Embiid play basketball knows he's a trash-talker. Of course, his opponents are not going to like it.

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Embiid played just one game against the Hawks in 2017-18. He scored 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes on Nov. 1, 2017. Muscala? Just two points in 22 minutes.

Yeah, it's pretty clear who had the better stat line. And you can bet Embiid was chirping the entire game. Who could blame him?

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