2014 NBA draft/off-season thread

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Jordan also had the same injury and he was fine.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

He also wasn't a big man.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Comparing anybody to Michael Jordan is a fool's errand.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Good thing he was forced to go to school for a year.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Outside of Walton, did any big men have these issues with their feet in the 50s, 60s or 70s?

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

No, he wasn't. But the point is that players have and can recover from this sort of injury without it affecting their careers. It'll be *seemingly* random if it affects him vastly or not.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

I think he'll at least fall as far as Nerlens Noel did.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

At this point, I wouldn't touch him if I had a top 10 pick, but I kind of think he'll wind up being taken in the 6-7-8 range. The difference this year is that there is some pretty decent talent out there. I could see taking a shot on Embiid if he falls out of the top 3, but when there are players like Vonleh, Exum, Smart, Randle, Gordon out there, it might be harder to justify.

If you're deciding between Doug McDermott and Embiid, by all means take Embiid. But some of the others, might be harder to pass on for a guy who isn't going to play next season.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Embiid has back and foot problems and is a raw unpolished player with a minimal basketball background and little coaching. If he never had a single health issue he'd be a project, now he's a twice damaged little experienced tall kid. Who scouts for the NBA? Mike Wilbon, Chris Broussard and Dick Vitale, the jock sniffers?

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Gee, think ya might be underselling him a bit?

Embiid is not just some raw "tall kid" project. He's shown more explosive athleticism than any 7 footer we've seen in years, his rate of improvement over the last couple years has been flat out incredible, he has tremendous defensive instincts, is also apparently an extremely sharp kid, and as for the notion that he has no skills, I might suggest taking a look at any of his recent workout videos (for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp7PX7hYUFQ).

There are very good reasons why he was being hyped as the possible No. 1 overall pick. Despite that, I'd still be terrified to drop a top five pick on a big man with his back and feet issues.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

Yeah, anybody who has followed his brief career can see he's a prodigy. It's unbelievable how natural the game comes to him and how quickly he picks things up. It's going to be kinda sad if he never gets to reach his potential.

I caught part of a guy on SportsCenter, who I think they said was Yao Ming's doctor, and he said Embiid had two things going for him. 1.) He's younger than a lot of the 7-footers who have broken this bone and his body should be able to heal better. 2.) He went ahead and got the pins put in right away. Yao waited and tried to let it heal without surgery and then eventually had to get the pins put in anyway. Having surgery and taking the 6 months off gives him a better shot at a full recovery, according to this guy.

 

Re: 2014 NBA draft thread

There was a reason why he was the favorite to be the No. 1 pick before this foot stuff happened. There is crazy potential there. The comparison to Olajuwon is a reach (and would be for almost anybody) but legitimate centers are so rare in the NBA these days that big men are frequently taken a lot higher than they should be. Exhibit A is last year's draft where there were a couple guys taken very high in the draft who have very little going for them other than they're 7-footers.

What Embiid has working against him is there is a lot of talent in this draft. It is still possible he'll go in the top 3, but he may fall a bit. I think he's seen as having more of an upside than Noel. I just wonder what a team picking fifth does if they're deciding between Julius Randle and Embiid. That could be tough.

Would it be a reach to say that Embiid, if healthy, (a big if) would project to be better than Anthony Davis?