Joel Embiid of Kansas has a chance to be a top three pick in the NBA Draft, some analysts even see him as the best player available ahead of teammate Andrew Wiggins and Duke’s Jabari Parker. However, there appears to be some uncertainty as to whether the freshman centre will declare for the draft or decide to return to Kansas for another season.
According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowksi of Yahoo Sports that decision has been made and Embiid will enter the draft.
Embiid has denied these reports on twitter.
@JumariTraylur huh??
— Joel-Hans Embiid (@jojo_embiid) March 27, 2014
@humblekid11 haven’t made a decision yet
— Joel-Hans Embiid (@jojo_embiid) March 27, 2014
The 7’0″ centre averaged 11.2 points on 63 percent shooting, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game for Kansas this season. He showed great athleticism, and incredible potential for a big man, and his ability to change the game at both ends of the floor has franchise changing potential.
The biggest question on Embiid is his health. He suffered a back injury and missed Kansas’ last six games, including their loss in the third round of the NBA tournament. Embiid will need to prove that he is healthy and will not have recurring issues before the June draft if he does want to be the first overall pick. If not 100% healthy before the June draft, it may be in his best interests to spend another year at Kansas proving that he is 100% for the 2015 draft.
There are two key dates in play here, April 16th and April 27th. The April 16th date is the deadline for any player who declares early for the NBA draft to renounce that declaration and remain in the NCAA (assuming he has not signed an agent and lost NCAA eligibility that way). The April 27th date is the last possible day for an underclassman to declare for the NBA draft.
Joel Embiid may be holding back announcing his decision so he can see how his back injury progresses right up to the April 27th date, and not have to risk declaring early and renouncing before the 16th. In this way he gives himself an extra 11 days to see how his back responds to rehab and treatment.
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