It’s draft day, and the Cavaliers are on the clock. The Cavs have made it clear to teams that if they trade the No. 1 pick, they want proper compensation in terms of a lottery pick, or two, and a veteran player capable of helping next season. I am hearing that Philadelphia and Boston are still in the mix. This morning the Orlando Magic pulled the trigger on a deal that sent Aaron Afflalo to the Denver Nuggets for Evan Fournier
With the 2014 NBA draft merely a few hours away, teams are gearing up for all of their possible choices as the clock is winding down. In what should be one of the stronger drafts in recent years, despite being significantly weaker than the famous 1984, 1996 and 2003 drafts, there is a very strong crop of international prospects going into the draft. This year there are three prospects who could be picked in the lottery (Dante Exum, Dario Saric, Jusuf
It what seems like a never-ending soap opera, the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly split on Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. As things stand, I get the sense that the Cavs prefer to trade the top overall pick in Thursday’s draft. And if they do, I expect Joel Embiid to be a very real possibility if the Cavs move down. The significance of LeBron James opting out is that it comes early enough that all teams looking to make a play for him
The NBA Draft was overshadowed today when news broke that LeBron James will be opting out of his contract with the Miami Heat. The four-time MVP had been rumored to be leaning towards opting out, but today his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Management, confirmed that LeBron informed the Heat of his decision. Unlike four years ago, LeBron no longer shares an agency with Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade. Today LeBron James is his own entity, and having endured a
It’s NBA Draft Week, and the Cavaliers are on the clock. Cleveland has eliminated Joel Embiid as a candidate for the top overall pick. According to sources, the Cavaliers currently have Jabari Parker rated above Andrew Wiggins by a razor-thin margin. Both small forwards were in Cleveland last week, and while Wiggins was more impressive than Parker, the Cavs are intrigued by Parker’s ability to make an impact as a rookie. There is still a chance the Cavs could opt for Wiggins,
With the news that Kansas’ Joel Embiid had surgery Friday to repair a stress fracture in his navicular bone, the NBA draft among lottery teams has become quite intriguing. It is rare to have a consensus No. 1 pick experience such untimely misfortune. The top pick will earn a rookie salary of $5.51 million. The No. 5 pick will earn $3.61 million. And that is just in Year 1 of a four-year rookie scale deal. Taken out over the full four years,
One week from today is the NBA draft, and chaos has been unleashed. Thursday’s revelation that Joel Embiid has suffered a stress fracture in his foot and will be unable to work out for teams or attend the draft has turned what appeared to be a settling draft order upside-down. Cleveland, owners of the top overall pick for the second consecutive season, now is in a difficult position. Before the news of the injury, Embiid was the player the Cavaliers had
Joel Embiid of Kansas has a broken foot and needs surgery. And now that piece of news has thrown everyone’s draft projections into disarray. Embiid was listed at No. 1 in Mock Draft 4.0, but he is not there in our latest edition. So does that mean the Cavs will not draft him? Perhaps not. The Cavs are now looking at trading down a couple of spots, believing that Embiid will still be available. And with the Philadelphia 76ers coveting Andrew Wiggins,