Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler share cryptic social media exchange

Is Jimmy Butler out here recruiting? His reply to Joel Embiid‘s cryptic social media post would kind of, sort of imply that.

On Monday, Philadelphia 76ers big man Embiid took to Instagram to share a photo of himself silencing the Philly crowd after he hit a big 3 on Sunday, with the quote: “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” as the caption.

Given the Sixers’ rocky start to the season and unrelenting questions about Embiid’s leadership abilities, that pretty much read like a subtweet (are sub-Instagram posts a thing?) directed at the city of Philadelphia.

Never one to shy away from drama, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler decided to chime in, letting his former teammate know that there’s a franchise that would welcome him with open arms. To which The Process emphatically agreed:

Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler on Instagram 🍿 pic.twitter.com/bnmVDIKfdT

— ESPN (@espn) February 11, 2020

This is all purely speculation, of course. Maybe the two friends are really into Marvel.

But if these cryptic messages meant what we think they meant, then it would make sense that Embiid felt the need to clarify in a follow-up post that he has “#AllLove” for the City of Brotherly Love and was simply dishing it back at the fans (Embiid and the Sixers were booed Sunday against the Chicago Bulls):

Made for this… If I can take it then you can too. PHILA TOUGH!!! #AllLove pic.twitter.com/hno6UH1GPD

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 11, 2020

All is well that ends well.

But still … your move, Pat Riley.