Just this morning, the only thing barring Kansas Jayhawks Center Joel Embiid from being the consensus #1 overall selection in next week’s NBA draft was his physical. Questions about his back and all-too-real memories of Greg Oden and many others alike had teams needing closure before making such a declaration.
That all changed today when it was revealed that Embiid suffered a stress fracture in his right foot and will be undergoing surgery tomorrow. Resultantly, he will not be available for any further pre-draft workouts, nor will he be attending the draft.
What this means in terms of his draft stock remains to be seen. It’s hard to turn the other cheek on a guy who’s been described as a 7-foot Serge Ibaka, but at the same time, it’s hard to bite on a guy who’s already showing multiple signs of Odenism. We’ll find out June 26th.
