How does this affect the Cavs' draft plans? In short, the general consensus is that, short of this being him stubbing his toe, this injury would push him over the edge for the Cavs to feel comfortable drafting him. I wouldn't blame them one bit at this point either. On the brighter side is that you now have a full excuse to not pick Embiid over two other strong prospects in Parker and Wiggins, even though Embiid may have the highest upside. Consider it Griffin's "get out of jail free" card. Even if Embiid does end up a superstar, no one would blame them for passing him up.
Now, personally, I'm still a little skeptical of this story being 100 percent true. The timing of this story coming out seems to be too coincidental, as the Bucks and Sixers have not yet had the chance to work Embiid out. In fact, there's a report coming out that the Cavs were going to exchange their physical exam of Embiid for the Bucks' of Parker:
Cavs doctors conducted Joel Embiid physical, Bucks doctors conducted Jabari Parker's -- and two teams exchanged them, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 19, 2014
Additionally, the Cavs will reportedly bring in Dante Exum for a workout (convenient, right?), which would leave a reason for the Cavs to trade back to number three, if the workout "goes well":
As Jeff Goodman reports, Joel Embiid suffered a foot injury. Cavs want to workout Dante Exum for No. 1 spot now too, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 19, 2014
This Embiid story keeps getting deeper. You mean to tell me his own representatives didn't know he had a broken foot?
— Bob Finnan (@BobCavsinsider) June 19, 2014
- Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Feet)
- Sam Bowie (Legs/Feet)
- Yao Ming (Feet)
- Brad Daugherty (Back)
- Jermaine O'Neal (Feet)
- Ralph Sampson (Back)
- Larry Johnson (Back)
- Tracy McGrady (Back)
- Bill Walton (Feet)
Bare in mind that these are only the recognizable names that had careers cut short. Even Jared Sullinger is struggling with back issues early on in his career.
Stay tuned folks, we're in for a wild ride on next Thursday.