Before tomorrow’s 2014 NBA Draft, we offer up predictions who will get drafted where.
Following news of Joel Embiid breaking his foot, the draft boards have been sent into a small frenzy with constant debate regarding the number one overall pick (Embiid was previously touted as the favorite) and everything thereafter. There’s a lot of unanswered questions heading into the Barclays Center on Thursday night and most GMs have heavily pondered on decisions this week.
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers (who magically won the lottery…again) go for NBA ready Jabari Parker or the extremely athletic Andrew Wiggins? How far will Embiid fall in the draft due to injury? Are there any quiet lottery picks like Gary Harris or Elfrid Payton that can make noise quickly? Will Marcus Smart learn to control his temper and channel that aggressive nature into production on the court or will it scare teams away?
These are questions that are less than 24 hours away from being answered.
How will the 76ers and Magic make the most of their two lottery picks – by using one to enter the Kevin Love race or use their position to build for the future? Everyone will be watching ESPN Thursday night, ready to criticize or praise their respective team’s GM, as they make decisions that immediately affect the franchise. Good thing we are not in that hot seat, but if we were here is how it would go. . .
01. Andrew Wiggins (Cleveland Cavaliers)
02. Jabari Parker (Milwaukee Bucks)
03. Dante Exum (Philadelphia 76ers)
04. Noah Vonleh (Orlando Magic)
05. Aaron Gordon (Utah Jazz)
06. Joel Embiid (Boston Celtics)
07. Julius Randle (Los Angeles Lakers)
08. Doug McDermott (Sacramento Kings)
09. Marcus Smart (New Orleans Hornets)
10. Nick Stauskas (Philadelphia 76ers)
11. Dario Saric (Denver Nuggets)
12. Gary Harris (Orlando Magic)
13. Elfrid Payton (Minnesota Timberwolves)
14. Adreian Payne (Phoenix Suns)
15. Zach Lavine (Atlanta Hawks)
Nonsense. We are united. RT @chadfordinsider: Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wants Wiggins at #1 Front office wants Parker. http://t.co/IMRUK09DKs
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) June 25, 2014
Sources: Heat aggressively trying to move up in draft. Target is Shabazz Napier. LeBron thinks he’s best PG in the draft & Heat need a PG
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) June 25, 2014
Cleveland pushed on deal centered on No. 1 pick for Kevin Love, but his refusal to re-sign w/ Cavs has killed talks, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 25, 2014