Miami Heat: Hypothetically speaking, would Joel Embiid even fit?

The Miami Heat are in somewhat of the middle of a firestorm surrounding Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid. Question though, would he even fit the culture?

The Miami Heat are a really good team this year. That is common knowledge at this point, but must be mentioned as a precursor to anything else, as it only seems like you find yourself in the headlines when you are experiencing at least a semblance of success. That isn’t just in basketball, but in every walk of life, while also being here nor there at the moment.

What is here and there though is one of the latest storyline developments in the long line of those that typically are birthed throughout any given NBA season. The stars of this scene are two players extremely familiar with one another, former teammates even. These characters are one Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and his former teammate with the Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid.

In case you haven’t heard already, Embiid and Butler started a whole thing on the internet earlier in the week after Butler had a back and forth exchange with Embiid online. After Embiid had been booed by his hometown crowd, he let his feelings be known via social media, to which Butler was able to initiate the exchange. That exchange, mainly Embiid’s response to Butler’s gesture, is what sent the world into a tizzy as we documented.

While we have to be completely honest and real with ourselves, when considering the fact that Joel Embiid is still a few years away from being a free agent and the fact that it would take way more than a king’s ransom to pry him from the hands of Philadelphia in a trade, there is still a question that would have to be asked among all of this chaos. Does he fit the Heat Culture?

The first thing that one might ask or say is that “of course he does”. They might then point to Jimmy Butler’s fit and stance within the organization and his corresponding love for Joel Embiid as a way to make the point.

They may even point to Embiid’s immense talent and statistical output over his career and think that it’s a clear and obvious no-brainer. Let me be the first to tell you though, it goes so much further than that with him.

The talent is there, without a doubt, but can you trust him? Can you trust Embiid to stay healthy? That is something that no one can control, including him, but it is a real question considering his lengthy injury history and the amount of time he has missed during his time playing basketball at a high level.

Can you trust him to get into Miami Heat shape? The Miami Heat are infamously known for their rigorous conditioning requirements and equally as known for their no-tolerance policy about it (see James Johnson‘s training camp or lack thereof).

Could Joel Embiid fulfill those obligations? The most logical answer here would be no.

Across his entire time in the league thus far, he has never been in tip-top shape so to speak, the best possible shape that he could be in. Based on what we have seen, I would dare to even say that he hasn’t even surpassed 75 percent of the best shape he could be in to start, play with during, or to finish a season.

The last thing of note here is his maturity level. That is something that supersedes, but also has a lot to do with every other aspect of his game and career, for good and for bad.

These are things that are all fair to question about Joel Embiid and his extremely hypothetical potential fit within the Miami Heat organization. So, get excited Heat fans, if you want to. While it would be very far away if Embiid is to ever land in Miami if it were to happen, it isn’t necessarily a home run to say that he fits or that Pat Riley should go for him.