:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/27845249/20140125_sng_ac5_140.0.jpg)
In his latest 2014 NBA mock Draft at Basketball Insiders, analyst Yannis Koutripis projects the Orlando Magic to select Kansas center Joel Embiid with the second overall pick, following the Milwaukee Bucks' selection of Andrew Wiggins, Embiid's Kansas teammate.
Embiid is averaging 11.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.7 blocked shots on 65.9 percent shooting in his freshman season with the Jayhawks. It's uncertain how Embiid would fit on a Magic team with Nik Vučević, another seven-footer, entrenched at center, but given that Orlando owns the league's second-worst record, it can't marry itself to any one player already on its roster.
With the WoNK pick, Koutripis selects Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis 15th overall. Like Embiid, Ennis is a freshman posting solid numbers: the Ontario native is averaging 12.3 points, 5.4 assists, 2.5 assists, and just 1.4 turnovers for the Orange. The Magic might be in the market for another playmaker in June, given Jameer Nelson's age and the uncertainty surrounding Victor Oladipo's long-term position at the NBA level.
ESPN Insider Chad Ford recently reported that Ennis' steady play has him rising on Draft boards throughout the league.
Orlando Pinstriped Post contributor Tyler Lashbrook has written more extensively about Embiid and Ennis.
