2014 NBA Redraft: A tale of two big men and two missed picks
By Corey Rausch
#2 Pick: Nikola Jokic (Originally: Jabari Parker)
The only other logical choice for the top spot was Nikola Jokic, as he compares so favorably to Embiid. Jokic stayed an extra year overseas so he only has a single year advantage on Embiid and did not fully come into his own until the Nuggets organization made a decision and moved on from Jusuf Nurkic.
Jokic has never missed more than nine games in a season, having played every game this season and has never shot less than 49.9 percent from the field. He is not the distance shooter that Embiid is but he is one of the best passing centers the league has ever seen and is a walking offense in his own right.
Even given the slow start to his season this year, he posted averages of 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. You cannot go wrong with either player. Embiid may have a higher ceiling but Jokic’s floor is much higher given his consistent health and availability.
Jabari Parker has been a huge disappointment but this was a pick that made a lot of sense at the time. Giannis Antetokounmpo had not shown his full talent as of yet and pairing him with Parker being the dominant scorer of the duo was easy to visualize. The team had also not yet given up on Larry Sanders at the center spot. But Jokic pairing with the future MVP would have been a thing of beauty.
With the third pick in the 2014 NBA Redraft, the Philadelphia 76ers select…