Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The “tankathon” that was the 2014-15 season for the Philadelphia 76ers may have just experienced a serious foil in the plan after reports surfaced of yet-to-play rookie center Joel Embiid suffering a setback to his recovery after foot surgery.
After a stellar freshman year at the University of Kansas, Embiid was forced to rehab a back injury that he sustained before the NCAA tournament. He then proceeded to have surgery on his right foot which effectively ended the chances of him suiting up in a Sixers uniform for what would have been his rookie campaign last season.
The Sixers thought they got a steal by drafting the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year last season with the No. 3 overall pick as many scouts had him first overall if not for the foot surgery he required. Since Philadelphia was not in any kind of rush to get back into the playoff picture, Embiid fell perfectly into their lap and was set to develop his skills and more importantly rehab his foot in anticipation of being the cornerstone of the NBA‘s youngest team going forward.
After visiting Dr. Richard Ferkel in Los Angeles this past week, the most important puzzle piece in GM Sam Hinkie’s Rubik’s Cube plan for NBA success learned that his foot was not healing on schedule and more rest may be in his immediate future.
This news is a serious blow for the organization. Embiid was slated to make his NBA debut in Utah’s Summer League in less than month, and fans were eagerly anticipating seeing the seven-footer perform against live competition as opposed to structured drills. Some reports claim that Embiid could be out for the entirety of next season, while others are more hopeful of a quicker return to action. No matter the true prognosis, a big man with foot issues is usually a cause for legitimate concern.
Another layer to this news is how it will ultimately affect the Sixers’ upcoming draft choice, which will come in just 10 days time. A healthy Embiid would have certainly led the Sixers to drafting a guard with their No. 3 overall pick, because the pairing of Embiid and Nerlens Noel down low would have been the big man tandem of the future. But now the waters are a little murkier.
It’s likely that Kentucky’s Karl Anthony-Towns and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, who are projected to go Nos. 1 and 2, will be picked in that order, so a name to look out for is Kristaps Porzingis. He’s a 19-year-old, 7-foot-1, 220-pound Latvian center who has played for Baloncesto Sevilla in Spain since 2012. Porzingis has flown up draft boards over the past couple of weeks after working out in the states and is being compared to Pau Gasol in terms of his skill set.
Anthony-Towns’ running mate at Kentucky, Willie Cauley-Stein, has been ascending quickly in mock draft boards as well and would add another dominant Wildcat shot blocker to the Sixers’ frontcourt. There also have been rumblings of the Los Angeles Lakers taking D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick, meaning that Okafor could fall to the Sixers at three.
The only sure thing is that Sixers fans will have no idea who the team plans on picking until the name is read by Commissioner Adam Silver on draft night. But don’t be surprised if another big man joins Noel and Embiid in the Sixers’ frontcourt.
Douglas Ammon is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DA76er
