Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid denies he weighs 300 pounds and former No. 1 pick Pervis Ellison said he was impressed when he recently saw Embiid work out.
“I don’t weigh that,” Embiid told Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com on Sunday.
The Philadephia Inquirer, citing a source, said Embiid, the No. 3 pick in last year’s NBA Draft, is “close to 300 pounds after being 250 pounds at Kansas last season.”
The paper also said Embiid’s “work ethic is being questioned by some inside the organization.”
Meantime, Ellison, the No. 1 pick in the 1989 Draft, saw Embiid work out recently and told SNY.tv he was impressed with what he saw.
“The Sixers got somebody that I love,” Ellison, now the head coach at Burlington (N.J.) Life Center, told SNY.tv. “I saw him work out the other day and I’m telling you, he’s going to be the next one. He’s going to be the next big star in the league.”
Asked if Embiid looked overweight, Ellison said, “He’s still athletic. He’s solid. He’s going to be the next big star at center, in my opinion. [With] is athleticism and his explosion, you can’t each that.”
He added: “The kid is moving around well. I couldn’t tell you if he weighed 300 pounds but he’s moving around well. He’s elevating well. Everything else looks good.”
Ellison made a brief comparison between Embiid and Shaquille O’Neal in terms of weight.
“Not comparing this young man to Shaq obviously, but Shaq at his best was 300,” Ellison said. “It’s when he went above 300 is when Kobe [Bryant] would complain.”
Ellison said he likes what the Sixers are doing in terms of stockpiling assets and is curious to see how Embiid and Nerlens Noel complement each other when Embiid eventually takes the court. He has not played yet this season because of a foot injury.
“Bigs are at a premium,” Ellison said. “You can always stockpile the assets. I think they’ve done a good job with that now. To be able to have Nerlens on your roster with Embiid, you still have to see how that combination is going to work.”
Still, Ellison said he could imagine the Sixers taking Duke’s Jahlil Okafor at No. 1 if they get that pick.
“If you get the No. 1 pick, I wouldn’t be disappointed if they took that big kid because now you got all kind of options.
“I think [Okafor] will definitely be in the top five centers in the league. But I like Embiid. I love Embiid.”
Photo: USA Today Sports
