Joel Embiid Has Harsh Message For Deandre Ayton Ahead Of 2018-19 NBA Season

NBA training camps haven’t even begun yet, but Joel Embiid’s trash talk already is in midseason form.

The Philadelphia 76ers star big man is renowned around the NBA for his ability to jaw at opponents, and he did just that to one of the league’s most exciting rookies.

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton has stood above the rest at pretty much every level throughout his life, but obviously the NBA is a totally different animal. He’ll no longer be able to just run through his opponents, instead, he’ll have to figure out how to make his game translate to the top level so that he lives up to expectations as a No. 1 pick.

So what was Embiid’s message for Ayton?

“He’s about to get his ass kicked this year,” Embiid said Friday during ESPN’s “The Jump” at 76ers Media Day.

Now it wasn’t all harsh candor for Embiid, who had some good things to say. But the kind comments from Embiid came with a caveat.

“He’s going to be good,” Embiid said. “But when you talk about ‘He looks like Joel Embiid,’ I play on both sides of the court. I think I’m a good offensive player, good defensive player. I do it on both ends of the floor. I watched him play and he’s got a lot of work to do. But he’s got a lot of potential. He’s going to be really good.”

Suffice to say plenty of the league’s best are looking forward to going head-to-head with Ayton.