Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:I'd feel more comfortable with taking Towns or Okafor instead of trading for Embiid. Too big a gamble, and he hasn't played competitive basketball for more than a year.

Wiggins would speak up for him. Of course he would because that's his friend from college. The good thing about Andrew (and Zach, Shabazz) is that these young guys seem to have formed good relationships already.

We can disagree on this last point, but I believe Embiid is more into the NBA spotlight than he is the NBA game. To me, that's another issue.

Yeah, I'd rather go with Okafor or Towns over Embiid. And it's the injury more than anything else. An injured 20 year old big usually becomes a variable in your lineup later on.

Take the injury out of the equation and rank Embiid, Okafor, and Towns.

TRKO wrote:Take the injury out of the equation and rank Embiid, Okafor, and Towns.

I'll still go Towns, Okafor, Embiid, but keep in mind, I've never been all that high on Embiid like others on this board.

Russell struggling yet again. What's up with this kid? His February woes continue.

Camden0916 wrote:Russell struggling yet again. What's up with this kid? His February woes continue.

He just looked like a freshman. Michigan played great team d today. Russell has top notch talent there is no doubt about it, but their whole team was flat today.

I like Towns and Okafur over Embiid, even if Embiid hadn't been injured. Despite the hype Ebiid got, I think Wiggins and Parker were better prospects. With Embiid's injury, I wouldn't give up a top 4 pick for him. If we pick outside the top four and miss out on both Towns and Okafur, then I'd have to at least consider trading for Embiid but Johnson or Turner might still be better as their is a risk in tying up big dollars in injury prone bigs.

thedoper wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:Russell struggling yet again. What's up with this kid? His February woes continue.

He just looked like a freshman. Michigan played great team d today. Russell has top notch talent there is no doubt about it, but their whole team was flat today.

Sure, but he definitely struggled today, and has been all month really. My concerns about his ability to get all the way to the rim have been valid and he's resorted to settling on offense. He's also been guarding the opposing team's point guard so it's tough to get a true read on his defense in those matchups because I still think of him as a SG. I want to see how he'll translate to the NBA. I still think he's very, very talented and one of the top-five prospects in this class, but I'm not completely on board with him being a star yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRJ4_NUoY_g

Embiid by a mile over Towns and Okafor if all are healthy. Embiid was a force on both ends of the floor in college. He doesn't have the array of post moves that Okafor does, but Embiid is bigger and more athletic around the rim and demanded just as many double teams even though he's not as much of a prolific scorer. Embiid also showed a great touch with his shot that Okafor doesn't have. Embiid was also just as much a defensive force as Towns. On top of all of that Embiid was a very raw player who wasn't expected to be able to do as much as he did in college so I think he has a much higher ceiling than either Okafor or Towns. Embiid was a better prospect than Wiggins and Parker. The injuries just made him a risk that Cleveland and Milwaukee didn't want to chance. The comparisons to Hakeem weren't made lightly.

http://articles.philly.com/2015-01-19/sports/58204754_1_joel-embiid-sixers-moute

Seems to be other issues besides staying healthy with Embid