Franchise centers are like franchise Quarterbacks. If you have a chance to draft one, you do it every time.
If they're healthy. If not, then you'll never actually have the franchise QB.
Manning and his neck worked out well for the Broncos. Brees and his surgically repaired shoulder worked out well for the Saints. It is a gamble, but sometimes gambles pay off... huge.
Key word being "sometimes".
A 7 footer with back & foot issues trying to play basketball is a scary concept. Especially if you're looking for him to be your franchise guy.
I'll leave this one up to the doctors but my feeling right now is that it's not a gamble worth taking this high in the draft.
If they do go the rebuild route, which is looking more and more likely, I think it's an opportunity you can't pass up. If they miss on Embiid, they still have so many future first round picks that I'm not as concerned.
Back to the QB comparison, the Miami Dolphins passed on Brees because they didnt think the risk was worth it. They have been floundering since while the Saints are a perennial Super Bowl contender.
Many scouts think Embiid could be the next great center. I'm willing to gamble on that, especially if Love, or any other star, is not available to the Celtics.
According to Dr. Kenneth Hunt, an Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at Stanford, that despite the high profile examples of athletes who have battled recurrences of a navicular fracture, "the healing rates of this fracture are high."
"The majority of these injuries will heal completely," Hunt said. "Getting to it early is a good prognostic sign. In his case, it appears it was treated early and appropriately. In the cases I have seen, the athletes that have recurrent fractures have high arches and stiff feet. They can develop large spurs in the adjacent bones. But again, to the majority of athletes this will heal and not be an issue in the future."