After the Philadelphia 76ers officially ruled out big man Joel Embiid for the season, ESPN's NBA insiders are breaking down how the 2023 MVP and Philly got here, plus what's next for all sides.

Joel Embiid was in the midst of one of the most dominant scoring seasons in NBA history before Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga accidentally fell onto his left leg on Jan. 30, 2024. Prior to that moment, Embiid had scored more points than minutes played in the 2023-24 season, something no player had accomplished since Wilt Chamberlain more than 60 years ago.

Embiid had a procedure on that left knee a short time later, and it has remained a constant source of trouble for him for the past calendar year, up to when he and the Philadelphia 76ers decided Friday that his 2024-25 season was done.

While Embiid came back near the end of the 2023-24 regular season and played in Philadelphia's six-game loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, he was clearly less than 100%. (It was exacerbated by him dealing with a bout of Bell's palsy during that series, too.)

Yet, Embiid was still a force in that series, averaging 33.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. That performance was encouraging enough that Embiid was expected to put up a strong performance for Team USA in the Paris Olympics before being ready to go for training camp in the fall. But while Embiid did win a gold medal with Team USA, he struggled for large portions of the run while playing with a bulky brace on his left knee -- though he did have a strong performance in the fourth quarter of the team's legendary semifinal comeback against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

Embiid arrived for training camp unable to get started on time. What initially was expected to be a few-day ramp-up quickly morphed into a few weeks, with Embiid eventually making his season debut on Nov. 12 against the Knicks.

By then, Philadelphia was 2-8. In fact, Embiid didn't play in a win until Dec. 8, when he returned after a seven-game absence to help the 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls. They then ripped off eight wins in 12 games -- including going 7-2 when Embiid played -- highlighted by a win in Boston on Christmas.

After a win at the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 4, the 76ers stood at 14-19 and were a game back of the Bulls for the final East play-in spot. Embiid then missed the next month with both a foot sprain and the ongoing knee issues. He finally returned a month later in a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 4.

That was the final win Embiid played in. Philadelphia dropped his final five games of the season, including Saturday's two-point loss to the Nets that saw him spend the fourth quarter watching from the bench. The team remains mired in an eight-game losing skid, continuing a theme from throughout the season that saw Philadelphia consistently struggle with him on the court for the first time since his rookie year. -- Tim Bontemps

What to expect from the 76ers for the rest of this season?

To this point, the 76ers have yet to say anything other than they're going to try to keep winning and attempt to make the postseason. But that was also before this news, as Embiid officially being shut down culminates a disastrous season for himself and the franchise.

Friday's news will undoubtedly lead to questions about how much longer Paul George will keep playing this season. But, more than anything, this decision will now turn all attention to Philadelphia's top-6-protected first-round pick, the remnant of the 2020 deal that sent Al Horford to Oklahoma City for Danny Green.

The 76ers currently sit in sixth in the lottery -- which gives them less than a 50% chance of keeping their pick. Will they lean into that path, and try to maximize their chances of keeping it, or instead keep trying to win? At this point, it's fair to wonder if it matters either way.

But with star rookie Jared McCain already sidelined for the season with meniscus surgery, there isn't much for 76ers fans to latch on to right now. Instead, they'll spend their nights keeping tabs on the prospects from this year's draft class and wondering if after a season that has felt cursed in many ways, the 76ers will get some lucky bounces of the pingpong balls for June's draft. -- Bontemps

What is Embiid's timetable to return to the court?

Embiid has had two knee surgeries on his left meniscus, both on the lateral (outside) of it. The first was in 2017, the second in 2024. In both procedures, doctors hoped that clipping off the injured portion of the meniscus would create long-term healing. But when two separate surgeries on the same area did not create a lasting fix, doctors have to look at more novel approaches, and that's where we are now.

Embiid experienced pain and swelling in his knee throughout this season. It was unpredictable, sources said, sometimes coming after a good workout or game. That indicates there might be something else amiss with the meniscus or his alignment. His options could be surgical -- another meniscus repair or a meniscus transplant, or even what's called an osteotomy, in which doctors break a bone to realign his body, according to medical experts consulted by ESPN who have not examined Embiid directly.

Those are more radical options that could warrant a lengthy recovery time that could stretch into next season.

Embiid has already received various injections into the knee to promote healing and recovery, but medical experts say there are other, less invasive procedures he could still try. -- Ramona Shelburne

Where do the 76ers stand in the lottery race?

As noted, Philadelphia currently has the NBA's sixth-worst record at 20-38, but there's room to drop even further. The 76ers can't realistically catch any of the three bottom teams. At the low end, the Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz (both 14-44) are on pace for just 20 wins but are unlikely to reach that total given teams tend to fade more late in the regular season as players are shut down due to injury and young reserves get more minutes. The Washington Wizards, at 10-48, would have to catch fire to hit 20 wins.

The Sixers could realistically fall below the New Orleans Pelicans, who have won three in a row and are currently 4 games back of the Sixers in the overall standings. So long as Zion Williamson is healthy and playing at an All-Star level -- he has averaged 26.3 PPG on 62% shooting since Jan. 25 and recorded his first career triple-double on Thursday -- the Pelicans are better than the current Philadelphia team.

The Toronto Raptors, currently fifth in the lottery standings, are a wild card. The Raptors are 3-9 since a five-game winning streak in late January, and newly acquired Brandon Ingram still has no timetable for his return from a severe ankle sprain. The Sixers are 2 games ahead of Toronto in the standings.

Going behind just one team would have an enormous impact on Philly's chances of keeping its pick. The No. 5 seed in the lottery gets a top-six pick 64% of the time, compared to 46% for the No. 6 seed. And if the 76ers can finish behind both New Orleans and Toronto as the No. 4 seed, their chances of picking in the top six would increase all the way to 81%. -- Pelton

How does the injury impact Embiid's contract?

Unlike the five-year, $146.6 million extension Embiid signed in 2017 that protected the 76ers in case he suffered a significant injury, there is no such provision in either his current contract or the extension set to begin in 2026-27.

Embiid is owed $248.1 million over the next four seasons ($55.2M, $59.5M, $64.3M, $69.1M), all of which is guaranteed. The only way for the 76ers to get cap relief in future years would be if Embiid's knee issues are deemed to be career-ending.

The determination on whether Embiid suffered a career-ending injury would be made by a physician selected by the NBA and the players' association. If that's the case, then starting on Feb. 22, 2026 (one year from the last game Embiid played), Philadelphia could apply to the NBA to have Embiid's salary for the years of his contract removed from its cap sheet. The Sixers would also have to waive Embiid.

If the injury is not determined to be career-ending but is significant enough that Embiid would miss all of the 2025-26 season, then the 76ers could apply for a disabled player exception that would be worth the same as the non-taxpayer midlevel exception (since 50% of Embiid's salary is higher than that mark).

What's the effect on any 76ers free agency plans?

The 76ers committed $800 million last offseason to Embiid, George and Maxey and are likely locked into their trio for the foreseeable future. The three players are set to earn a combined $146 million in 2025-26, which is 77% of Philadelphia's projected payroll.

How much flexibility the 76ers have to add in free agency will be determined by the lottery in May and the player options of Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon, who will miss the remainder of the season after wrist surgery. The first-round slot and salaries for those three players total $25 million.

If Philadelphia retains its first-round pick and all three veterans opt in prior to June 29, it will be $2 million below the luxury tax before free agency begins. The 76ers would then be allowed to use most of their $14.1 million non-tax mid-level exception to re-sign free agent Guerschon Yabusele.

Besides Yabusele, the big addition is likely to come with a healthy McCain and the potential lottery pick. McCain was averaging 15.3 points before he suffered a season-ending left knee injury in December. -- Marks

What does this mean for the futures of George and Maxey?

George was the top free agent available this past summer, and landing him was supposed to launch the 76ers back toward the top of the East. Instead, George's tenure with the 76ers has never gotten off the ground.

The veteran swingman was coming off one of his best seasons with the LA Clippers but has seen his production drop across the board in Philly. His average of 16.1 points per game is his lowest since his second season in the league, and he's shooting just 42.9% overall. To say his production has fallen short of the four-year, $212 million deal he signed this summer is a massive understatement.

Perhaps a full offseason to get his legs back under him will lead to a different outlook and performance next season, but this was a contract handed to a player who is turning 35 in May that was already expected to look rough in its final years. It was signed to deliver instant production. Instead, it was an instant failure.

Maxey, meanwhile, has bounced back from a slow start to essentially replicate his All-Star season from a year ago, and he remains the bridge to whatever the future of this franchise is moving forward. The 24-year-old guard is already seen as a leader in the locker room, and that role is only going to increase in the years to come. The question becomes what the rest of the roster is going to look like around him, as he's the only player who seems certain to be a factor for the 76ers moving forward. -- Bontemps

Fantasy implications to Embiid's being ruled out

Embiid has the highest usage percentage on the 76ers, with 34.6% of the possessions when he's on the court ending in either a shot, an assist or a turnover. He also leads the team with 8.4 RPG. This means that Embiid's absence will open up a plethora of possessions and offensive and rebounding stat opportunities for other 76ers to fill. Maxey is likely to make the biggest statistical leap without Embiid. In 16 games with Embiid this season, Maxey has averaged 23.8 PPG on 17.8 FGA, but in 34 games without Embiid those numbers leap to 28.8 PPG on 22.9 FGA. Maxey projects as a top-10 fantasy producer for the rest of the season.

The other 76ers player most likely to increase his production moving forward is Yabusele. He averaged 9.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 1.2 3PG in 18 games with Embiid this season, but in Embiid's last extended injury absence from Jan. 6 through Feb. 2, Yabusele averaged 14.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 1.7 3PG.

Available in 91.3% of ESPN fantasy leagues, Yabusele projects to a top-100 fantasy producer/nightly flex starter as the 76ers' starting center for the rest of the season.

If Embiid is ready for the start of next season, he projects as a high-risk third-round pick in fantasy hoops leagues. When healthy, Embiid has top-three-overall fantasy hoops upside. But he has never played more than 68 games in any season in his career and has now missed 106 of a possible 164 games in the past two seasons. It will be risky to spend a high draft pick on him, but his upside will likely still get him picked in the top 30 of most fantasy hoops drafts. -- André Snellings

PHOENIX -- Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich took a step forward Saturday in his return from back surgery by playing in a game for the first time since July.

Yelich was the designated hitter for the Brewers' 9-4 Cactus League victory over the Texas Rangers. The 2018 NL MVP went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and an RBI.

"It was just cool to be out there, honestly, because it's a long road from the last time I did it," Yelich said. "Honestly, that was a victory in itself for me today."

The 33-year-old Yelich had last played in a game July 23. He went on the injured list later that month and underwent a diskectomy in August to remove the damaged part of a disk in the spine.

His back issues ended a season in which Yelich earned his third All-Star Game selection. Yelich batted .315 with a .406 on-base percentage, .504 slugging percentage, 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 21 steals in 73 games. He was leading the National League in batting average and on-base percentage at the time of his injury.

The Brewers could use a big season from Yelich as they adjust to the loss of shortstop Willy Adames, who signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants after hitting 32 homers and driving in 112 runs for Milwaukee in 2024.

Yelich expects to be available for the start of the season. His presence in Saturday's lineup was a step in the right direction.

"I honestly didn't care what the results were at all," Yelich said. "Just find out where you're at and go from there. I thought there were some good things, some things that weren't too good. But it was basically how I expected it to be, and my body felt good. That was pretty much the biggest concern of the day."

New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton will begin the season on the injured list because of elbow injuries that have sidelined him this spring.

Stanton has received platelet-rich plasma injections in both of his elbows, according to the New York Post. The 2017 NL MVP has been away from the team while dealing with a personal matter, but he is expected to rejoin it in Tampa, Florida, next week.

Stanton, 35, hit .233 with 27 homers and 72 RBIs in 114 games last season. He had seven homers and 16 RBIs in 14 postseason games and was the ALCS MVP when the Yankees eliminated the Cleveland Guardians.

Also, Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu hurt his calf muscle during Saturday's 9-3 spring win over the Houston Astros.

Speaking after the game, manager Aaron Boone called the injury "at least a little concerning."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes got a chance to showcase his expanded repertoire to opposing hitters Saturday while pitching in a Grapefruit League game for the first time this year.

Skenes, 22, has been working on adding a cutter and a running two-seam fastball to complement his electrifying four-seam fastball. He struck out four and allowed four hits, one walk and one run in three innings Saturday in the Pirates' 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

"You've just got to mix it in," Skenes told SportsNet Pittsburgh and other media after the game. "I learned some stuff about it. It's going to be good, I think."

Skenes is following up a sensational 2024 season in which he earned NL Rookie of the Year honors and went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. The Pirates selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft after he led LSU to that year's College World Series championship.

Commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition filed by Pete Rose's family filed on Jan. 8 to have Major League Baseball's all-time hit leader posthumously removed from baseball's ineligible list, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN Saturday.

Jeffrey Lenkov, a Los Angeles lawyer who represented Rose prior to his death at age 83 in late September, said he filed the reinstatement petition after he and Fawn Rose, the oldest daughter of Pete Rose, met with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney in the commissioner's office on Dec. 17.

"The Commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list," Lenkov said of the one-hour meeting in the commissioner's office. Lenkov said he is seeking Rose's removal from MLB's banned list for betting on baseball "so that we could seek induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which had long been his desire and is now being sought posthumously by his family."

MLB sources acknowledged the commissioner met with Fawn Rose and Lenkov and that Manfred is now reviewing the petition to reinstate Rose. In December 2015, Manfred rejected Rose's reinstatement petition after meeting with Pete Rose. Manfred and Courtney declined to comment on Saturday.

Lenkov's comments came a day after President Trump said he would pardon Rose and criticized MLB for barring Rose from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose was banned from baseball for life by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989.

"Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn't have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning," Trump posted on social media. "He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in history." Although Trump did not say what the pardon would cover, Rose served five months in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges in 1990.

Lenkov said he had "not actively sought" the White House's assistance in his efforts to seek reinstatement for Rose, which he said began years ago.

"When he gets passionate about an issue, POTUS stands behind it," Lenkov said of Trump. "He was passionate about Pete. Pete would have appreciated the President's commitment to him."

Lenkov declined to release the petition that he sent to Manfred. But he said the petition describes "what Rose would have said honestly and candidly to Commissioner Manfred, if he had been able to attend that meeting," Lenkov said.

"It is now time to turn the page on Pete Rose's legacy in baseball and for the Hall of Fame to honor him. Whether you are a fan or not of Pete Rose, we are at our best a nation of second chances, a nation of giving people second opportunities. We don't write off people."

Rose, who spent most of his 24-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, won the World Series three times and remains Major League Baseball's career leader in hits, games played, at-bats, singles and outs. Rose often said no player had won more major league baseball games than him.

In a statement on Saturday to EPSN, John Dowd, who investigated Rose for gambling on baseball for MLB in 1989 and served as Trump's lawyer seven years ago, noted that MLB is "not in the pardon business nor does it control admission to the HOF."

In 2020, ESPN reported that for all practical purposes, Commissioner Manfred viewed baseball's banned list as punishing players during their lifetime but ending upon their death. A senior MLB source told ESPN then that after a banned player dies, MLB informally sees that the banning ends. When Manfred denied Rose's petition for reinstatement, he said, "Under the Major League Constitution, my only concern has to be the protection of the integrity of play on the field through appropriate enforcement of the Major League Rules. It is not a part of my authority or responsibility here to make any determination concerning Mr. Rose's eligibility as a candidate for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame."

In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., passed a rule declaring that any player ruled ineligible by Major League Baseball could not appear on a Hall of Fame ballot. This became known as the "Pete Rose rule," because it closely followed the indefinite banning of Rose.

Rose has never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot. As Lenkov seeks a precedent-setting ruling by Manfred on Rose's removal from the ineligible list, he said he hopes he can use it to persuade the Baseball Hall of Fame to allow baseball writers to vote for Rose's induction.

In the past, Hall of Fame representatives have said that after a player dies-and he's still on the banned list-he still won't be eligible for consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Rose had numerous opportunities to win reinstatement during his lifetime. In the early 2000s, commissioner Bud Selig offered Rose a chance for reinstatement but he insisted on conditions, including that Rose would have to admit he gambled on baseball, make no casino appearances and stop gambling. But Rose declined.

In 2004, Rose admitted in a book that he gambled as a manager of the Reds, but he insisted that he only bet on his team to win. Years later, ESPN reported that Rose also placed bets as a player, but Rose wouldn't admit it. Lenkov said that he is hopeful that Manfred will reinstate Rose and that the Hall of Fame will allow him to be considered. " "Legally, the lifetime ban is over. His lifetime is over," said Lenkov, who also was executive producer of the recent Rose documentary on HBO. "The Hall of Fame has a rule that if you are on the ineligible list, you can't be considered. If he is taken off that list, there's still no guarantee he gets in. It's a unique situation because he's never been on a Hall of Fame ballot.

"But if he gets in, it'll be a wonderful thing. Imagine the outpouring of emotion to go to the Hall of Fame when he's formally inducted. And why not? As a lawyer and as an American, I believe in second chances. Pete Rose has had as long a prison sentence as any person could have ever imagined. Now is the time for Rose to get his second chance."

With spring training games now underway, baseball is once again being played and we can start to fine-tune the top of our draft lists by seeing what players actually look like on the diamond.

However, many fantasy managers will tell you that fantasy championships are not won in the first few rounds, but rather by what bargains you can get in the middle of the roster-allocation proceedings.

With that in mind, we asked our quartet of fantasy experts -- Eric Karabell, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Todd Zola and Derek Carty -- to highlight one player they were targeting as one of these middle-round must-haves. If these names are currently nowhere to be found on your own draft lists, you might want to make some adjustments.

Which player ranked outside the top 50 are you most excited about potentially drafting to as many of your fantasy baseball teams as possible?

Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays

He's one of the few players you'll routinely draft outside the top 50 (other than in dynasty and keeper leagues) who has a legitimate chance at a top-25 overall season, thanks to his immense raw power potential.

That power is a true 80-grade skill and, to underscore how much punch he packs at the plate, note that he had the highest exit velocity of any player at the Triple-A level last season (minimum 150 batted balls). Then, after getting the call in mid-August, he had what would have been better-than-70th-percentile Barrel and hard-hit rates in his 177 plate appearances with the Rays.

The more hitter-friendly confines of the Rays' temporary home at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa should help his cause, as will hitting regularly in the heart of the order. Expect a big breakthrough from Caminero in 2025. -- Cockcroft

Christian Yelich, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Yelich produced a stellar .909 OPS over 315 plate appearances during the 2024 season, offering up 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases before his balky back eventually shut him down just before August. Offseason surgery was expected to fix the problem, and Yelich should be ready for Opening Day.

Fantasy managers would be quite pleased if Yelich approaches numbers reflecting his 2023 pace. Remember, Yelich was a five-category provider and top-10 outfielder that season, and lest we forget, he was an All-Star just last season. He has proven upside, yet doesn't need to return to his 2018 NL MVP form to get back to top-50 fantasy status. -- Karabell

Christian Walker, 1B, Houston Astros

First base is loaded in 2025, with five players at the position currently with an ADP inside the top 50. Walker should make it six, but his ADP is borderline top 100.

Being able to wait for Walker allows fantasy managers to focus on other lineup spots early in drafts while still rostering one of the best at his position. He's averaged 32 homers, 94 RBI, 81 runs and five steals while hitting .250 over the past three seasons -- and that's with having missed 32 games last year due to an oblique strain. He had missed only seven total games in 2022-23.

Moving to a new team can be a challenge, but Walker's current home field is much more homer-friendly to right-handed batters than his old digs in Arizona. -- Zola

Taylor Ward, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Yeah, yeah. I know you wanted me to say Dylan Crews or Jackson Jobe or literally anything sexier than Taylor Ward. Tough. You get what you get, and you don't get upset. But trust me: You'll be upset if you don't get Ward.

A 31-year-old Angels outfielder without a single standout skill is hardly someone I'd expect you to already be excited about, but that's exactly why he's my pick. Old, boring veterans (especially on bad teams) are perpetually undervalued -- and they're also perpetually the key to winning leagues.

Ward won't carry a single category for you, but he'll contribute in all five and, most importantly? Ward is good at baseball. He can hit. My projection system (THE BAT X) sees Ward as the 52nd-most-valuable hitter in fantasy this year, but he's being drafted more than 100 spots below that. Take advantage of the market's biases and take the value where you can get it. -- Carty

South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard will leave Leicester Tigers at the end of the season to rejoin Bulls in his home country.

The two-time World Cup winner signed for the Premiership club before the 2022-23 season and has made 45 appearances, scoring 395 points.

But the versatile back said family reasons and the lure of a club where he started his career in 2014 was too difficult to resist.

"It was a hard decision to make, to leave Leicester Tigers, because I love this club and being a part of this group," the 30-year-old told the club website., external

"After a lot of thought, the opportunity to go home to South Africa after six years in Europe and to be able to return to the club where I began my career was one I felt was right for me and my family to take.

"That's really all there is to say for now because I don't really want to start talking like this is already over. There is a lot of rugby to be played and a lot of time left for me at Leicester Tigers, which I am focused on finishing successfully."

Pollard made his breakthrough with Bulls in 2014 before a stint at Japanese club NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in 2015 and a spell with French side Montpellier in 2019.

Pollard's World Cup wins came in 2019, when South Africa beat England in the final, and in 2023, when he scored all of the points in a 12-11 win over New Zealand.

Pollard will continue to play for Leicester, who are fourth in the Premiership, until the end of the campaign.