Sixers rumors: Joel Embiid cleared to scrimmage

 By: Brandon Apter, managing editor

Bryan Colangelo and Brett Brown traveled to Turkey last week to see what Dario Saric's intentions were for the season. Earlier today, the Sixers reportedly informed Ben Simmons' camp that they planned to select him with the first overall pick in Thursday night's draft. More news continues to flow out of Sixers camp, this time regarding Joel Embiid's recovery. According to Adrian Wojnorowski of Yahoo! Sports and The Vertical podcast, Philadelphia's 2014 draft pick has been cleared to being light five-on-five scrimmaging.

After a full year of rehabilitation, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been cleared to start light scrimmaging in five-on-five settings, league sources told The Vertical.

The 7-foot Embiid has been impressive in his non-contact workouts in recent weeks at the 76ers’ facility, sources said, and the soundness of his problematic right foot should continue to allow him to begin preparations for next season.

This is definitely positive news, but there are still no plans for Embiid to participate in Summer League play. He will travel with the team and practice for the games in Las Vegas.

Philadelphia selected Embiid with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He averaged 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds during his lone season at Kansas in 2013-14.