Joel Embiid had one of the most celebrated social media presences earlier in his career, displaying his talent on the floor and then talking trash online afterwards.

"I barely use social media these days," he said.

Embiid didn't take to social media to combat the narrative that he needed to be in better shape.

"I don't post my workouts," Embiid said. "I don't need to show off to people, 'Look at me, I'm working out. Look at this picture, this is me working out every single day.'"

Embiid also became a first-time father this year.

"I've never seen someone go from zero to 60 like Jo can," Sixers general manager Elton Brand said. "Once he's focused and locked in, he becomes that guy. And coming into the bubble, he was in amazing shape."

The Philadelphia 76ers were determined to enter the 20-21 season with their present roster in place to determine how Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and their new acquisitions would play before assessing whether to pursue a trade for James Harden.

Sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic that "the results, chemistry, perceived ceiling and the like would all be factored in when it came to what might come next on the Harden front.

The 76ers are widely believed to have the capacity to put together the most attractive trade package for Harden due to the presence of a young star in Simmons. Daryl Morey also may covet acquiring Harden more than any other executive in the league due to their history together with the Houston Rockets.

Daryl Morey has been fined $50,000 for a violation of the NBA's anti-tampering rules.

The fine stems from a social media post Morey made on December 20th regarding James Harden.

Morey left the Houston Rockets in October and joined the Philadelphia 76ers shortly thereafter. Philadelphia has been linked with a potential trade for Harden. 

Ben Simmons said he's not worried about his name being connected to trade rumors involving James Harden. The Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers have been in touch on a Harden trade with varying reports on the availability of Simmons. 

"No," Simmons said after Tuesday's practice. "I come in every day, take it a day at a time, ready to work. I'm with my teammates. ... Every day I wake up, every time I got a Sixers uniform on, I'm representing the Sixers. So my mentality never changes.

"I'm here to win a championship. That goal is never gonna change. I know things are always going to be said in the media, and rumors and things like that, but my goal is to come in every day and get better and help the team that I'm on win a championship."

The 76ers are excited for their supporting cast around Simmons and Joel Embiid.

Daryl Morey was concerned his tweet supporting Hong Kong in October of 2019 could have led to him never working in the NBA again.

"In the last 12 months, I had moments where I thought I might never work in the NBA again, for reasons I was willing to go down for," Morey told ESPN while discussing his new role with the 76ers. "But I love working, I love what I do, and I didn't want that to happen."

Morey had befriended a number of Hong Kong residents while attending business school and had intimate knowledge of the challenges they faced living in a semi-autonomous country. Morey's decision to tweet his support was a conscious effort to express his solidarity for people he knew well.

Asked months later if he regrets his decision to support the protests in Hong Kong, Morey paused for several seconds before responding, "I'm very comfortable with what I did."

At one point, Morey became concerned for the safety of his wife and two children following the tweet.

"I was actually really, really worried about that," Morey said. He declined to elaborate on the specific threats. "Luckily I had [access to] different people who were assisting me with that and giving me advice on how to handle it," he said. "Hopefully, I've been able to get where we have some level of safety.

"But I was extremely concerned. You don't want the second-most powerful government on Earth mad at you, if you can avoid it. In this case, I couldn't."

Morey stepped down as general manager of the Houston Rockets in October and was soon thereafter hired by the Philadelphia 76ers.

The allowances afforded to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George last season with the Los Angeles Clippers impacted chemistry and also angered many teammates. Doc Rivers says he was against the practice.

"A lot of it is true," Rivers concedes. "There was special treatment, but what people don't understand is I was the guy who didn't like it and was fighting it."

Rivers said he underestimated how disjointed the Clippers' locker room had become.

"The goal on every team is to find a group of guys who have figured out how to win -- or at least some of them," Rivers says. "If they are the right ones, they don't give a s--- what anyone else does. They don't get caught up in all the crap.

"The Lakers are a great example. Clearly LeBron and AD got different treatment, but the guys around them said, 'Who cares? As long as we win.'"

Tyronn Lue was a candidate to become head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, but he was never a serious candidate.

Lue had an ally in Philadelphia's search in Rich Paul, who represents LeBron James and Ben Simmons.

Sources tell the Athletic that Joel Embiid was opposed to Lue for basketball reasons and also "for the optics of Simmons' 'guy' getting the job."

The 76ers eventually hired Doc Rivers, who was coincidentally fired while Lue was in Philadelphia getting ready for his interview. 

Frank Mason III signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mason was the G-League MVP last season for the Wisconsin Herd. 

The plan is for Mason to join the Sixers' G-League affiliate, sources told NBC Sports Philadelphia. 

The Houston Rockets have opened up trade discussions on James Harden with teams beyond the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.

"They're starting to gather more interest in both the Eastern and Western Conferences," said Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN.

More teams are becoming comfortable with trading for Harden without an assurance he would commit long-term.

"One thing is for certain: Houston would like to get this done sooner than later. This is a pall over the entire organization...

"They've got to find the right deal. This is too important for the organization long-term. They have a checklist for what they would like in a deal. You don't always get everything you want in one of these trades, but they have to really maximize value. That's going to be a really good young player and draft picks, at the very least as the comb the league. 

"They're looking at three-team scenarios. Perhaps a particular team doesn't exactly have the player they want but they can help go get that player in a bigger deal."

The Philadelphia 76ers have indicated a willingness to include Ben Simmons in trade talks with the Houston Rockets for James Harden.

Those talks between the 76ers and Rockets have come nowhere close to a deal.

The Rockets are in the process of expanding their trade talks beyond the 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.

Daryl Morey denied the report in a statement to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“We are not trading Ben Simmons — he is an important part of our future,” said Morey.