Cavs reportedly ‘leaning toward’ Jabari Parker with top pick

For a while, it appeared that former Kansas star Joel Embiid was the safest prospect in the 2014 NBA draft class. A previous report said Embiid looked so dominant in workouts that it would be “impossible to imagine” him not being drafted first overall. A serious foot injury has changed all that.

Embiid, who is said to be fully recovered from a back injury that kept him out of the NCAA Tournament, fractured the navicular bone in his right foot earlier this week. He underwent surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 months.

According to CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger, it now looks like the Cleveland Cavaliers will take Jabari Parker with the No. 1 pick.

With Joel Embiid’s foot surgery, and the reported 4-6 month recovery that comes with it, the Cavs are said to be leaning toward Duke’s Jabari Parker with the No. 1 pick. Parker is more NBA-ready than Andrew Wiggins, who would go to the Bucks at No. 2. Rival executives believe it would be out of character for Cleveland GM David Griffin to trade the top pick, and believe Bucks GM John Hammond would be hard-pressed to deviate from the other consensus top player in the draft after Embiid’s injury shook up the top of the lottery.

There was a time when the Cavs were getting a ton of calls about trading for the top pick, but a lot of those teams were likely interested in Embiid. Now, several general managers from around the league have said there is no way a team could use a top-five pick on Embiid given his injury history.

Embiid might wind up being a steal for a team in the middle of the first round, depending on how his foot heals. His injury is the same one that essentially ended the careers of Yao Ming and Bill Walton, so there is obviously cause for concern. Parker would be a much safer pick.