When the Cleveland Cavaliers landed the top pick in the 2013, they were given the luxury of having a choice between the three best players in the draft in Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Joel Embiid.
Luckily for the Cavaliers, unlike the last two drafts, each pick would fill a need for the club going forward. Andrew Wiggins is the all-around guy, Joel Embiid is seen as the player of the trio with the highest ceiling, and Jabari Parker is just a flat-out scorer that’d take some of the load off of Kyrie Irving’ shoulder.
But based on sources from Fox Sports’ Sam Amico, that choice has been narrowed down to two as Embiid’s back issues have scared the Cavaliers away.
Sounding as if Joel Embiid basically out of running for No. 1 pick. Sources say #Cavs' extremely leery of potential for longterm back issues
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) May 23, 2014
Embiid will have to undergo extensive evaluation by #Cavs, sources say. Team will not rely on independent evaluation.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) May 23, 2014
This is no surprise. Despite the talent, no one, specifically Cleveland with the first pick, wants to put themselves in a situation where Embiid turns out like Greg Oden and the following guy picked, rather it be Wiggins or Parker, turns into some sort of Kevin Durant-like player, capping the ceiling of the team for years to come.
As mentioned in a previous article, everything heard around this time is just smoke and mirrors. Could it be true that David Griffin and company aren’t sold on Embiid being a healthy player for years? It’s possible, but unless the pick is a clear cut number one a la Blake Griffin in 2009, no team would want to reveal their hand before being forced to.
We’ll see what else is said on Embiid-Cleveland as the draft draws closer.