The Philadelphia 76ers are no playoff team, but certainly not the laughingstock so many expected them to be this season, either. Success really does seem on the horizon for Brett Brown’s team, a likelihood based on the young Sixers’ recently improved in-game performance alone – basically, without factoring the potential of injured rookie Joel Embiid. And considering Brown’s boasts of his prized big man’s skill level, it appears more obvious than ever that Embiid won’t merely be a part of Philly’s future, but go a long way towards making it, too.

During an appearance on last night’s telecast of the Sixers’ game against the Golden State Warriors, wunderkind GM Sam Hinkie touched on the seven-footer’s progress in a conversation with announcers Marc Zumoff and Malik Rose. Even more encouraging than Hinkie’s assertion that Embiid could play later this season is that Brown believes the 20 year-old might be Philadelphia’s second-best shooter.

Here’s Andrew Porter of CBS Philly:

“We tell people if you want to see Joel, come at 5:30 [p.m.] and watch him shoot before the game,” Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie told play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff on Comcast SportsNet, during the Sixers-Warriors game on Monday night. “[Head coach] Brett [Brown] says he may be our second best shooter. He’s really shot it well just from the perimeter early on. He’s obviously not available to fully run.”

Now, this tidbit deserves a grain of salt. Hinkie was in casual conversation with team homers on a local broadcast and thus has every reason to pump sunshine. Recent reports that suggested Embiid wasn’t exactly committed to training and rehabilitation give him further reason to preach unfounded optimism.

But then there’s stuff like this coupled with the natural, fluid stroke the Cameroonian showed off in his one season at Kansas:



Reminder: This dude is 7-1, 265 and boasts one of the more well-developed post games we’ve seen from a youngster in recent memory. The chance that he could splash 18-footers with ease opens up all kinds of offensive possibilities for Philadelphia, and is especially important given the supreme lack of gravity supplied by Nerlens Noel.

And if Embiid eventually adds the long-ball to his game? Let’s just say it might be time to reimagine his sky-high ceiling.

The question with Embiid, of course, is whether or not he’ll be able to stay healthy – he’d have been something close to a consensus number one pick in June if not for his checkered injury past and present. Those concerns remain and will persist until he plays full consecutive seasons without incident.

But Hinkie’s intel via Brown and Embiid’s pre-game marksmanship just gives Sixers fans even more reason to be excited about years to come. And whether Embiid gets the opportunity to show off his ballyhooed stroke when it actually matters later this season or not, that should remain the case.