NBA Position: C

General Information: 20 year old freshman, played at Kansas. From Yaounde, Cameroon

Measurables: 7'0", 250 lbs, 7'5" wingspan

2013-14 Season Statistics: 11.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.4 APG, .9 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 2.4 TPG (23.1 Minutes per contest) – 62.6% FG, 68.5% FT, 65.5% TSP

That said, he is still raw as a big man. I predict he will be considered a "disappointment" in his first seasons in the NBA due to overhyped instant expectations. It will be a few years before he hits his stride, but he should be one of the first two players selected.

Offensive Breakdown: For all his potential as a shotblocker, the most exciting thing about Embiid was his improvement in the post over the season. He developed a handful of nice moves with his back-to-the-basket, and went from being raw (even for the college game) to a dependable scorer on most nights. With his excellent footwork and athleticism, he has the fluidity to pull off many moves under the basket. He doesn't have a go-to move yet, and nothing in his offensive arsenal is NBA ready, but the potential is excellent.

Embiid will not have instant success offensively in the NBA. He's well equipped for the future, and has shown improvement over the season. But he still has a lot of developing to do before he's a threat to score on NBA centers. He's leaving a college league where he was 3-4 inches taller most of his opponents; in the pros, he'll go up against guys his height on a nightly basis. He has fantastic potential, but he still very much an offensive project.

Defensive Breakdown: While he still needs to add more bulk to his frame, Embiid has great fundamentals for post defense. He keeps himself low enough on the block to keep from getting posted up, and he's tough enough to battle it out with strong opponents. His awareness in the post is excellent, and he reacts quickly as a help defender. Embiid will need to work on silly defensive fouls (he earned 3.4 fouls a contest), but he got better as the season went on.

Embiid's most exciting defensive skill is his shotblocking, and he finished with 2.6 blocks a contest and a block rate of 11.6% (second highest in the class behind Austin). He's got good timing and elite extension, but shot fakes constantly tricked him into jumping early. He's not afraid to attack an opponent when needed, and his 7'5 frame will always be a disruptive force, even if he doesn't block the shot.

Rebounding will be a key point for Embiid going forward. He's a capable rebounder and has good awareness of where the ball will end up, and his 27.3% defensive rebounding rate was the highest in the class (tied with Noah Vonleh). Things will be different when he's trying to rebound against NBA length. As he bulks up further and gets his timing down more, he'll become a great rebounder, but it will take time.

Intangibles: Embiid has all the tools to become a top NBA center, and given his improvement over the past season, it looks like he has the work ethic and determination needed as well. That said, I believe fans are expecting him to be far more polished in his rookie season then he will be. While his teammate Andrew Wiggins has been branded as a "project superstar", I think the title fits Embiid better. He has significant improvements that he'll need to make once he's playing against 6'11-7'0 opponents on every night.

But unless Cleveland or Milwaukee find out Embiid's lower back bones are made of pretzels, and THEN release those reports to the other teams, Embiid has zero chance of becoming a King. There are other prospects in the class who'd fit well with Cousins-Aaron Gordon and Noah Vonleh chief among them-but an Embiid/Cousins duo is a heavenly match that the basketball gods decided was too intimidating to release on the universe.

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