76ers' Joel Embiid: Hopeful for late-season return

Embiid (knee) remains out indefinitely, but coach Nick Nurse said before Sunday's game against the Bucks that the reigning MVP has gotten positive feedback and remains "really hopeful" for a late-season return, Austin Krell of USA Today reports.

Embiid underwent a procedure on his left meniscus at the beginning of February, but there were conflicting reports about his return timeline. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Embiid would be re-evaluated in four weeks, while Shams Charania of The Athletic said the big man was expected to miss at least 6-8 weeks. Both of these reports could be true. Embiid's first evaluation may come after four weeks, but he'll presumably need a few weeks to regain his conditioning before being cleared for game action. In a best-case scenario, managers may get Embiid back for the fantasy playoffs, but even in that situation, he may not be operating at 100 percent.