NBA Draft Rumors: Cavaliers are ‘blown away’ by Joel Embiid

Feb 4, 2014; Waco, TX, USA; Kansas Jayhawks center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before the game against the Baylor Bears at the Ferrell Center. The Jayhawks defeated the Bears 69-52. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2014; Waco, TX, USA; Kansas Jayhawks center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before the game against the Baylor Bears at the Ferrell Center. The Jayhawks defeated the Bears 69-52. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA Draft is right around the corner and teams are starting to hammer out their final draft strategies to see just who they can get and what it will cost to land the player they covet.

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For the Cleveland Cavaliers, the only moving they can do is down in the draft order as they own the No. 1 overall pick and control the top of the draft. Right now it’s anyone’s guess as to who the Cavs will be taking, but we’re starting to hear more and more good things about Emiid the closer we get to the draft.

According to  Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer, the Cavaliers have been ‘blown away’ by Joel Embiid and the Kansas center is someone that the team is still very much considering taking despite rumors to the contrary.

"If the NBA draft were today, I believe the Cavs would pick Kansas center Joel Embiid.Do I know that? Not for sure. But I do know they were very impressed by Embiid’s workout, and they were blown away by Embiid, the physical specimen. He was measured at 7-foot-1 in shoes. His wingspan was 7-6, his reach was 9-5."

Of course, that’s just Pluto’s opinion of the pick but the fact that the Cavaliers have been so impressed with Emiid seems to bode well for his chances of going No. 1 overall.

Cleveland needs a beastly center to hold things down for them and it could be a missing piece for them. Height doesn’t solve everything in today’s NBA though, and we can’t forget about Greg Oden and others like him who flamed out when height alone wasn’t enough.