Joel Embiid‘s medical worries make it a risk for the Sixers to select the talented Kansas big man with the third pick, opines Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey acknowledges that if healthy, Embiid might turn out to be the best player in the draft, but Philadelphia would be safer selecting Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh if Embiid is still available when they pick.
More from around the league:
- Each of the three former Michigan players who are draft prospects took a different approach to the combine week and each emerged with an upward trend, writes Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. Guard Nik Stauskas is a lottery candidate while Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III could be first round picks.
- Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald makes the case for the Celtics selecting Marcus Smart with the sixth overall pick in this June’s NBA Draft.
- Now that the Hornets own the Pistons first round pick, Detroit’s focus will turn to finding productive players in the second round, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis looks at some of the franchise’s past second round successes and breaks down which players might be available with the 38th overall pick.
- The Pelicans gave away too much in the trade for Jrue Holiday last year, opines Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. This puts added pressure on the team to get production out of Pierre Jackson next season, who is in essence this year’s draft choice for the team, notes Smith.
Zach Links contributed to this post.