So how about Joel Embiid

[Eyeamok]

Monster with HOF level potential. No joke.

That's exactly what he was around draft time. Injuries are the only reason he wasn't #1. But Embiid, Wiggins, Randle, Clarkson, Parker and Lavine seem to really be coming into their own and leading that class. But Embiid... man... that ceiling is scary high. I'm curious to see how he plays with Simmons and see BC trade Jah and Noel and get some pieces around the wing.

Hinkie got a raw deal.

They're 0-5. Its not hard to draft Joel Embiid (I mean everyone knew he would be amazing if he hit the court) and stack talent but it is hard to build a team that can win games. Remember they were 1-21 and looking worse than ever (they just got beat 119-68) when they brought Colangelo in.

LOL you must be new here.
You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high.
Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid.

So much revisionist history in this thread.

[HeJind]

They're 0-5. Its not hard to draft Joel Embiid (I mean everyone knew he would be amazing if he hit the court) and stack talent but it is hard to build a team that can win games. Remember they were 1-21 and looking worse than ever (they just got beat 119-68) when they brought Colangelo in.

If it wasn't hard to draft Embiid, why did 2 teams pass on him? It was, and still is a huge gamble.

It was widely considered a 3 player draft and they had the 3rd pick. Jabari is averaging 20/7/2 per 36 this year and Wiggins is averaging 23/4/1 per 36. They're not scrubs that were taken over him.

And 2013 was a one-player draft, that didn't stop 5 teams from passing on Noel. Too say it was a no-brainer is plain wrong.

[Marcus]

If it wasn't hard to draft Embiid, why did 2 teams pass on him? It was, and still is a huge gamble.

It was widely considered a 3 player draft and they had the 3rd pick. Jabari is averaging 20/7/2 per 36 this year and Wiggins is averaging 23/4/1 per 36. They're not scrubs that were taken over him.

And 2013 was a one-player draft, that didn't stop 5 teams from passing on Noel. Too say it was a no-brainer is plain wrong.

I see where you're going with that just not sure we're talking about the same level of prospect though.

[Marcus]

So much revisionist history in this thread.

ehhh. there were some folks who looked at the situation and said draft him regardless. had there not been a Wiggins or Parker in that draft class I think we're looking at the number pick injury or no injury.

[spursscott]

It took balls to take Embiid with that injury at 3. Obviously everyone knew who he was talent wise.

Not really when you look at the draft board. It was a 3 player draft with a pretty steep drop off in talent after Embiid. Hard to say it took balls to make the obvious pick.

Ugh. Do you have any idea how often over the past two+ years we've heard people on this site telling us what a sucker and schlub Hinkie was for taking Embiid? How everyone knew that big men don't come back from foot injuries, or back injuries, or how Embiid was all a media hype show to begin with, or how the Sixers were in no position to gamble, or how Aaron Gordon was actually a much better player anyway in Hinkie had a little foresight and didn't just go for the big name every time?

Give him credit where it's due now--that was a risky pick, many folks in his position wouldn't have done it, and he suffered for it (RIP Hinkie). Now we have to see if Joel stays healthy to give him the real laurels.

I would really like to the see the person who though Aaron Gordon was a much better player... Im sure you sixers fans were getting trolled if that even is true.

Simple fact is it was a 3 player draft and no amount of revisionist history will change that.

[E-Balla]

Monster with HOF level potential. No joke.

That's exactly what he was around draft time. Injuries are the only reason he wasn't #1. But Embiid, Wiggins, Randle, Clarkson, Parker and Lavine seem to really be coming into their own and leading that class. But Embiid... man... that ceiling is scary high. I'm curious to see how he plays with Simmons and see BC trade Jah and Noel and get some pieces around the wing.

Hinkie got a raw deal.

They're 0-5. Its not hard to draft Joel Embiid (I mean everyone knew he would be amazing if he hit the court) and stack talent but it is hard to build a team that can win games. Remember they were 1-21 and looking worse than ever (they just got beat 119-68) when they brought Colangelo in.

LOL you must be new here.
You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high.
Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid.

So much revisionist history in this thread.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2014mock_draft

http://walterfootball.com/nbadraft2014mock.php

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2067740-2014-nba-mock-draft-post-lottery-full-2-round-projections/page/2

http://www.sbnation.com/2014/5/20/5735962/nba-mock-draft-2014-cavaliers-joel-embiid

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2014/06/22/common-sense-mock-andrew-wiggins-cleveland-cavaliers/11241409/

I can find more if I want. Yeah his injuries are what lowered his stock from 1st place but he was still consensus top 3...

[MrBigShot]

Monster with HOF level potential. No joke.

That's exactly what he was around draft time. Injuries are the only reason he wasn't #1. But Embiid, Wiggins, Randle, Clarkson, Parker and Lavine seem to really be coming into their own and leading that class. But Embiid... man... that ceiling is scary high. I'm curious to see how he plays with Simmons and see BC trade Jah and Noel and get some pieces around the wing.

Hinkie got a raw deal.

They're 0-5. Its not hard to draft Joel Embiid (I mean everyone knew he would be amazing if he hit the court) and stack talent but it is hard to build a team that can win games. Remember they were 1-21 and looking worse than ever (they just got beat 119-68) when they brought Colangelo in.

LOL you must be new here.
You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high.
Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid.

So much revisionist history in this thread.

Drafting Embiid at #3 after Wiggins/Parker was an absolute no brainer at the time. After those 3 there was a massive drop in talent/potential.

[dorkestra]

There was some talk of going for Exum at the time. Also Noah Vonleh. And a few people saying Marcus Smart.

For anyone who cares, go to page four of the mock draft forum for 2014 mock drafts. Embiid wasn't considered a lock for top three by a lot of RealGM.

[Eyeamok]

So much revisionist history in this thread.

ehhh. there were some folks who looked at the situation and said draft him regardless. had there not been a Wiggins or Parker in that draft class I think we're looking at the number pick injury or no injury.

I was one of those folks and a lot of 76ers fans were on board with that pick too.

But I don't think Cleveland would have picked him #1 because they would not have been able to trade him for love.

I would not have been surprised to see Exum and Gordon go before him if there were no wiggins or parker in the draft. GM's would have been in fear of losing their jobs. The #3 pick is a pick where you can take a chance on a player that might pan out. But a team that is bad enough to be in the lottery in the top 3 has to sell their fanbase on "look at our new shining player." Not the hope of watch us stink another year and then we will improve when he plays.

[Eyeamok]

They're 0-5. Its not hard to draft Joel Embiid (I mean everyone knew he would be amazing if he hit the court) and stack talent but it is hard to build a team that can win games. Remember they were 1-21 and looking worse than ever (they just got beat 119-68) when they brought Colangelo in.

LOL you must be new here.
You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high.
Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid.

So much revisionist history in this thread.

Drafting Embiid at #3 after Wiggins/Parker was an absolute no brainer at the time. After those 3 there was a massive drop in talent/potential.

I know you believe that but trust me it was not so. Look at your own team's history. Picking Melo over Darko was a no brainer right? But still the pistons went with Darko even though there was a lot more data available on Mello. No brainers in hindsight are no brainers but at the time...not as easy as one would think.

[Marcus]

So much revisionist history in this thread.

ehhh. there were some folks who looked at the situation and said draft him regardless. had there not been a Wiggins or Parker in that draft class I think we're looking at the number pick injury or no injury.

I was one of those folks and a lot of 76ers fans were on board with that pick too.

But I don't think Cleveland would have picked him #1 because they would not have been able to trade him for love.

I would not have been surprised to see Exum and Gordon go before him if there were no wiggins or parker in the draft. GM's would have been in fear of losing their jobs. The #3 pick is a pick where you can take a chance on a player that might pan out. But a team that is bad enough to be in the lottery in the top 3 has to sell their fanbase on "look at our new shining player." Not the hope of watch us stink another year and then we will improve when he plays.

Cavs drafted before they knew Bron was coming back. Kyrie is there so need for Exum. Gordon wouldn't have made sense either with Thompson and Bennett. They needed a five and a three.

Kyrie was sustainable enough to wait a year for Embiid. Now I would agree that injured Biid wouldn't bring in Love but uninjured Biid might not get traded even with Bron coming back.

Actually planned on asking that in a thread after the all-star break when Biid has a larger sample size under his belt.

[Eyeamok]

They're 0-5. Its not hard to draft Joel Embiid (I mean everyone knew he would be amazing if he hit the court) and stack talent but it is hard to build a team that can win games. Remember they were 1-21 and looking worse than ever (they just got beat 119-68) when they brought Colangelo in.

LOL you must be new here.
You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high.
Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid.

So much revisionist history in this thread.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2014mock_draft

http://walterfootball.com/nbadraft2014mock.php

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2067740-2014-nba-mock-draft-post-lottery-full-2-round-projections/page/2

http://www.sbnation.com/2014/5/20/5735962/nba-mock-draft-2014-cavaliers-joel-embiid

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2014/06/22/common-sense-mock-andrew-wiggins-cleveland-cavaliers/11241409/

I can find more if I want. Yeah his injuries are what lowered his stock from 1st place but he was still consensus top 3...

Thank you for the links. But look at it from the 76ers perspective to understand why I say and feel it is was not a no brainer.

We traded away our best player (Holiday) so we could get Noel, who missed the entire season. The team tanked and at the end of the season the fans were pretty sure we had a good shot at either #1 or #2 pick at worse with Embiid going first.

(1) But Cleveland gets the first pick and now we are the #3 pick.
(2) Embiid gets red flagged medically and now Cleveland is gong to pass on him.
(3) The Bucks can't afford to wait and Parker wants to play for them.

All of a sudden everything that seemed like a lock is no longer so. You can go with Embiid a guy you never worked out or interviewed (because you did not think you had a shot at him) and have him sit out a year. Or you can possibly go with Exum who your coach has some insight about!

As much as I have bashed the 76ers for the way Hinkie was treated, I applaud them for being behind him on this pick. In hindsight it seemed like the easy thing to do. But if your not a winning franchise and you have just sat one of the cornerstone of your rebuild for the season, Noel, even though a lot of people said he could have played in April and he hinted at the same himself. Only to have your plans blow up in your face. And now your looking at doing the same thing again. It's not that easy to do. Because if Embiid's condition is chronic and he never plays, how far back are you as a franchise now?

[Eyeamok]

ehhh. there were some folks who looked at the situation and said draft him regardless. had there not been a Wiggins or Parker in that draft class I think we're looking at the number pick injury or no injury.

I was one of those folks and a lot of 76ers fans were on board with that pick too.

But I don't think Cleveland would have picked him #1 because they would not have been able to trade him for love.

I would not have been surprised to see Exum and Gordon go before him if there were no wiggins or parker in the draft. GM's would have been in fear of losing their jobs. The #3 pick is a pick where you can take a chance on a player that might pan out. But a team that is bad enough to be in the lottery in the top 3 has to sell their fanbase on "look at our new shining player." Not the hope of watch us stink another year and then we will improve when he plays.

Cavs drafted before they knew Bron was coming back. Kyrie is there so need for Exum. Gordon wouldn't have made sense either with Thompson and Bennett. They needed a five and a three.

Kyrie was sustainable enough to wait a year for Embiid. Now I would agree that injured Biid wouldn't bring in Love but uninjured Biid might not get traded even with Bron coming back.

Actually planned on asking that in a thread after the all-star break when Biid has a larger sample size under his belt.

Cavs drafted knowing they had a good shot at getting Lebron.

The history of big men with Embeds condition also the fact that they were courting LeBron made it very easy to pass on him in the draft. Wiggins was touted as the next big thing.

True Kyrie was sustainable enough to wait on Embiid but there were just too many unknowns with his condition and they had already done a bang up job with Bennett how many more chances were they going to get at the #! pick?

An uninjured Embiid would be a Cav today. No doubt about it. And the 76ers would have Parker.

Can you imagine Embiid, Kyrie and King James. Wow.

[lorak]

Game vs Jazz was first bad defensive performance from Embiid:

Watch on YouTube

[sixerswillrule]

He needs to clear up the turnover issues. It's been by far the biggest concern so far and a real killer in those close games. Hopefully it's just something experience will fix.

[HotelVitale]

LOL you must be new here.You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high. Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid. So much revisionist history in this thread.

I can find more if I want. Yeah his injuries are what lowered his stock from 1st place but he was still consensus top 3...

Drafting Embiid at #3 after Wiggins/Parker was an absolute no brainer at the time. After those 3 there was a massive drop in talent/potential.

Simple fact is it was a 3 player draft and no amount of revisionist history will change that.

Sorry, folks, your memory and your research let you down badly here:
http://www.nba.com/news/2014-consensus-mock-draft/
http://www.basketballinsiders.com/2014-nba-mock-draft-final-consensus/

For those to lazy to follow the link, ALL of the twelve most renowned mock sites (aside from DX) had Embiid out of the top 3 after his second injury announcement. The mocks eballa posted were way before that injury or else were some weird exceptions. By the day of the draft, it's completely, unequivocally clear that a vast majority of the major mocks had Embiid sliding past #3. End of story.

[XtremeDunkz]

All I have heard on this board over the last 2 years is how the sixers should have drafted Aaron Gordon or Dante Exum instead of the bust Embiid. Now everyone is saying "it wasn't hard to make the obvious pick" lmao get out of here with that. Eat your crow.

[sixerhp3]

Read on Twitter

Super cool clip here showing Embiid and Olajuwon executing an identical move

[Unbreakable99]

Read on Twitter

Super cool clip here showing Embiid and Olajuwon executing an identical move

Embiid's form looks better.

[E-Balla]

LOL you must be new here.You had the specter of Sam Bowie, Greg Olden and fans and people in the know saying the talent is there but the risk is too high. Yep it was not hard to draft Embiid. So much revisionist history in this thread.

I can find more if I want. Yeah his injuries are what lowered his stock from 1st place but he was still consensus top 3...

Drafting Embiid at #3 after Wiggins/Parker was an absolute no brainer at the time. After those 3 there was a massive drop in talent/potential.

Simple fact is it was a 3 player draft and no amount of revisionist history will change that.

Sorry, folks, your memory and your research let you down badly here:
http://www.nba.com/news/2014-consensus-mock-draft/
http://www.basketballinsiders.com/2014-nba-mock-draft-final-consensus/

For those to lazy to follow the link, ALL of the twelve most renowned mock sites (aside from DX) had Embiid out of the top 3 after his second injury announcement. The mocks eballa posted were way before that injury or else were some weird exceptions. By the day of the draft, it's completely, unequivocally clear that a vast majority of the major mocks had Embiid sliding past #3. End of story.

Looking at that NBA.com link 4 of the 12 had Embiid top 3 and basketball insiders only has 4 shown (and they're all also in the NBA.com one). Also neither of them have nbadraft.net there despite them being the 1st link that comes up when looking for mock drafts and them having Embiid 3rd. You are right that Embiid wasn't mocked top 3 on average the day of the draft but most fans had him top 3 (go check the draft thread and in between laughing at Embiid being mad you see people saying its a good pick) and knew he was good. When you're trying to lose he becomes the most obvious selection too. This wasn't a team that cared about waiting a year for someone they just did it with Noel.