Draft Notes: Embiid, Parker, Smart

Jabari Parker is universally regarded as the top talents in the 2014 draft class, but the Duke star may not enter his name into the mix at all.  Executives around the league are reportedly starting to wonder if he might take an extra year with Coach K & Co. while his father says that he has yet to make up his mind.  Here’s tonight’s latest draft notes..

  • The 2015 draft could actually shape up to be better than the highly-anticipated 2014 draft, writes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insider.  With Parker and Kansas center Joel Embiid reportedly on the fence about jumping in this June, they could help bolster a draft that features five big men with All-Star potential in Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Myles Turner (Undecided), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Trey Lyles (Kentucky) and Karl Towns (Kentucky).
  • Parker and Embiid appear undecided on entering this year’s draft, but it’s common for players in their position to have some doubts, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes. Kyler figures there’s little chance either will pass up the chance to start drawing NBA paychecks next season.
  • Today on ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d), five draft experts battled it out over some hot draft topics.  The group looks at how Marcus Smart would fit alongside Magic rookie Victor Oladipo, who could fall out of the lottery, whether Andrew Wiggins would make the Cavs playoff contenders, and more.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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