Could a roster with Kyrie Irving at the point and Joel Embiid at center convince LeBron James to come home.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com is reporting that while there have been conflicting reports about the state of Embiid’s back, an impressive workout and interview has the Cavs all set to draft the Kansas center.
Embiid’s workout and interview in Cleveland last week were major successes, according to sources close to the Cavs. Embiid did a full workout there in front of the Cavs’ front office and owner Dan Gilbert. Multiple sources said that the team was blown away with the workout. Embiid even ended one session by launching and nailing a series of 3s. Directly after the workout, two different sources told me that Embiid was the strong favorite to be drafted by the Cavs. Even Gilbert was on board.
However, there have been conflicting reports coming out of Cleveland about Embiid’s physical, with one report stating the Cavs found multiple red flags. That’s been strongly disputed by the sources I have, but getting accurate information this time of year is especially challenging. I don’t see the incentive for the Cavs to leak that the physical was bad. It lessens the value of the No. 1 pick, especially considering that they are still looking at multiple trade options. The only way leaking it makes much sense is if they are thinking of swapping picks with the Sixers and want Embiid to fall to them there.
Embiid has great feet and a feel for the game not seen in a long time. Memories of Greg Oden are giving some teams pause though.