After once being projected as the top overall prospect in Thursday night's NBA draft, Joel Embiid now rates as a complete wild-card in tonight's event after sustaining a fractured navicular bone in his right foot.
According to reports., team owners and GM's are still poring over his medical records, with some hinting there may be even more concerns than just his foot and the chronic back issues he suffered from during his freshman season at Kansas.
"I can tell you that the medical information from the feedback I've got, it's not just the foot," ESPN's Chad Ford said on the Mike and Mike radio show early Thursday. "While that's the most serious thing it's not just the back, there are other things that are coming out of those medical reports and totality have scared them away. Now it's a risk/reward thing.
The reward remains Embiid's unique combination of size and athleticism, which earlier this year had some comparing him to a young Hakeem Olajuwon. But what's the point, if the 7-foot, 250 pound big man simply can't stay healthy?
Joel Embiid projected as top NBA pick
"It's also that people are forgetting it's not just a Joel Embiid thing that he may miss the season, the dividends of Joel Embiid have just been pushed back a year and then the process starts," one source told the website. "It could be three years before a team really gets any impact out of Joel Embiid."
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