Cleveland Cavaliers Leaning Towards Joel Embiid With No. 1 Pick

Chad Ford of ESPN.com recently posted his latest mock draft in which he has former Kansas Jayhawks center, Joel Embiid, going number one overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 7-0, 250 pound athletic freak, is said to be one of the best center prospects in years and Cleveland is looking to solidify the post, especially if they’re trying to make a case for a LeBron James reunion this off-season.

Ford claims that Joel Embiid is the “strong favorite” to go to Cleveland after a very successful meeting and workout with the KU star last week. Ford writes,

"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."

There is also another side to this story. Embiid suffered from a pretty serious back injury last season, so Ford is reporting that some of his sources are saying his physical drew some red flags.

"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."

One thing to think about here is Cleveland not wanting to tip their hand to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76’ers, who own the 2nd and 3rd picks of the draft.