Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid's recent injury setback has many draft pundits thinking big with Philly's #3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
One name on the radar? Rising international sensation Kristaps Porzingis. Here's Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports with his thoughts on the potential fit:
I think Porzingis was already in play for them, to be honest. Hinkie has been over to Seville to see him play multiple times, and was at the workout in Las Vegas longer than any other general manager to watch and speak with him.
Under Hinkie, the 76ers have defaulted to the best player in the draft with the highest upside. His goal is to find a superstar, then build around that player. If Hinkie believes Porzingis to be that potential superstar, I don't think he'll really look at the roster and draft for need. He'll take Porzingis, and live with the result.
Having said those things, I will mention that I think Porzingis would be an excellent fit with Embiid in general. Embiid could utilize his terrific post skills and traditional rim protection/rebounding, while Porzingis spaces the floor, moves well laterally on the perimeter to shut off penetration, and protects the weak side of the rim. The two players complement each other really well. Now, there's still the matter of Nerlens Noel being in town, but one would have to think that if both Embiid and Porzingis do work out to the best of their potentials, they'd be able to find a great landing spot for Noel due to his age and defensive skill.
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