Sixers coach says Joel Embiid's minutes will be 'in the teens' to start the season

It appears Philadelphia will continue to be extremely cautious with its potential franchise center

When Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is on the court, there's no doubt that he's one of the most talented players in the NBA. A 7-footer who can shoot, dribble, defend and move like he can is a once-in-a-generation type of player. The problem is that so far in his career, he just hasn't spent much time on the court.

Embiid didn't play a single game in the first two seasons of his NBA career due to various injuries, and even while putting up incredible numbers during the 31 games he played last season, he was limited to 25 minutes per game. The Sixers were extremely rigid with his nightly minutes restriction, with the big man not once eclipsing the 30-minute mark.

Embiid is coming off March meniscus surgery so we assumed he'd be on a similar restriction this year. But Sixers coach Brett Brown said on Monday that Embiid might play even fewer minutes than he did last season, at least in the beginning.

"I don't really know if there's a solid number," Brown said, via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. "If you were to choose a number, it would be somewhere like in the teens."

The teens? Why are you doing this to us?

Embiid is one of the most exciting players in the NBA, and his part in the emerging young Sixers core is one of the most anticipated storylines of the season. Most fans would love to see the Sixers remove the training wheels and unleash Embiid in full force on the rest of the league.

But it makes sense that the Sixers would be extremely careful with a player in which they just invested $148 million, particularly one with Embiid's injury history. Just because it makes sense doesn't mean we have to be happy about it, though.

Embiid dazzled with 22 points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes in his first preseason game. He had a rougher go of it in his second and final preseason game, however, scoring just five points on 1-7 shooting -- again in 15 minutes. Perhaps he was too busy thinking about the tweets he was going to send to Hassan Whiteside after the game.

The Sixers have one of just five NBA rosters with an average age under 25, so they're understandably in no hurry. It's just frustrating to know how good Embiid could be and watch his minutes limited so severely. We'll see how much he plays in Philadelphia's opening game against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.