76ers expect injury-riddled center Joel Embiid to return from knee surgery in time for training camp

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is on track to return from knee surgery when training camp opens in September.

Embiid had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April following a disastrous injury-plagued season that limited the two-time NBA scoring champion to just 19 games.

Team President Daryl Morey talked to Embiid hours ahead of the first-round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night — the 76ers selected Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe with the No. 3 overall pick — and felt encouraged with the All-Star's progress.

“He's very engaged, attacking rehab," Morey said. ”Doing everything he can to be out there. He had a meeting with (the surgeon) this week. All things, to use a NASA term, are nominal. Things are going well and expected and we expect that to continue."

The 76ers will get an early jump on training camp this season because they will play preseason games in early October against the New York Knicks in the Abu Dhabi Games.

The 76ers expect the 31-year-old Embiid in camp.

“Things are on track to be ready right around there,” Morey said.

Embiid had meniscus surgery on Feb. 6, 2024, days after Golden State forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on the leg. The 2023 league MVP returned for the playoffs, though he never fully recovered.

He was ruled out ruled out for the season in late February after averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Embiid had been hobbled by injuries all season, and served a three-game suspension for shoving a member of the media.

Embiid has played only 58 regular-season games and seven play-in tournament/playoff games since he earned NBA MVP honors in the 2022-23 season.

Like Edgecombe, Embiid in 2014 was also the No. 3 overall pick of the draft.

Embiid has dealt with multiple injuries since even before he entered the NBA. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot before he was drafted out of Kansas that cost him two years. From there, it was a bone bruise here, a meniscus tear there. A busted orbital bone. A sprained shoulder. Tendinitis. Torn ligaments. Even Bell’s palsy.

Embiid conceded he was depressed — and eventually needed therapy — to deal with the effects of his injuries.

“It’s kind of hard when you get in those moments where it’s kind of hard not to feel bad about yourself, especially when you know who you are and what you can accomplish but it’s not the way it is,” Embiid said in December. “One lesson that I learned is to try and stop feeling bad about myself and just live day by day. Enjoy good people around me, positivity and not focus on the negativity.”

Former All-Stars and Paul George and Tyrese Maxey also had injury-plagued season as the 76ers limped to a 24-58 record under coach Nick Nurse.

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FILE - Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) celebrates with fans as he walks off the court after his team defeated the Chicago Bulls in an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)