It's probably a good thing the Philadelphia 76ers are drafting for talent rather than fit.
While it's a prudent strategy for team building in general - shoot for elite talent, figure out fit later - they're also operating in a cloud of uncertainty with their two 2014 lottery picks. Dario Saric appears set to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future, and No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid continues to recover from a broken right foot.
Or not recover, to be clear with the operative word in the case of the Cameroon native.
Embiid missed his entire rookie season due to a broken right foot, an injury that was discovered in June and was only expected to sideline him for up to eight months. He suffered a minor setback in March but was believed to be headed to Summer League in July before the team discovered another setback last week. The foot isn't healing as well as had been hoped, and reports have suggested Embiid could miss the 2015-16 season in its entirety.
The Sixers aren't willing to make that call yet, and will bring in three more doctors to further evaluate Embiid's foot.
"We're still waiting," CEO Scott O'Neil said Friday. "We have another three doctors to come see him. The nice thing about jobs like these - you can literally get the best experts in the world. All you have to do is call and they love to see us."
Excited though the specialists may be, the Sixers aren't expecting to have a clear picture of Embiid's future for "a couple of weeks." The challenge of balancing his long-term health with the immediate need to develop him is likely a tough one, but the team has shut down his workouts and he's no longer slated for Summer League.
The gamble Philly took at No. 3 last year still makes sense, and hindsight shouldn't change that. Embiid was thought to be the best prospect in the draft before injury trouble - he also had a stress fracture in his lower back - and the Sixers made the play for the highest upside. That's the most obvious path to moving from the cellar to championship contention, but it comes with risks and may take a few rolls of the dice to pay off.
