ESPN Insider Chad Ford predicts Kansas center Joel Embiid, not teammate Andrew Wiggins, will go No. 1 overall to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2014 NBA draft. Ford's latest mock draft, released on Wednesday, has Duke forward Jabari Parker dropping out of the top three and Kentucky forward Julius Randle going to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Embiid's draft stock continues to raise heading into March. Ford believes the 7-foot freshman has "the most upside" and will likely be the No. 1 pick by Milwaukee, which has a 25 percent chance of winning the lottery.
"...It continues to appear that Embiid would be the top choice if the draft were held today," Ford wrote on Wednesday. "Embiid, who is sitting out the last two games of the regular season with a minor back injury, not only has the most upside of anyone in the draft with the possible exception of Andrew Wiggins, but he'd give the Bucks a true low-post scorer."
Emiid is averaging 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game for Kansas.
Ford lists Wiggins and Australian point guard Dante Exum going second and third overall, respectively.
Parker, whom some analysts considered a candidate to go first overall, fell to No. 4 in Ford's mock draft. Ford has Parker going to the Boston Celtics as a possible replacement for forward Jeff Green, if he's traded.
A report from January, however, indicated Parker would skip the 2014 draft and play at least one more season at Duke.
Oklahoma State 1-guard Marcus Smart went No. 5 to the Denver Nuggets, and Randle fell to No. 6 in the mock draft to the Lakers.
*Note: Draft order predicted on lottery percantages based on teams' records as of March 5.
