Have You Heard the Latest? Jabari Parker ‘Tanked’ Workout With Cavs

Cleveland must be an awful city.

It must be if a player is willing to 'tank' his workout with the Cavaliers to insure himself he wouldn't be selected there. That's what Jabari Parker reportedly did when he worked out for the Cavs this weekend who hold the first overall selection in Thursday's NBA Draft.

According to ESPN NBA insider Chad Ford, Jabari Parker did not look good in his private workout with the Cavs and one source believes that Parker "tanked" the workout on purpose.

From Chad Ford:

Parker came in to work out on Friday in front of the Cavs' front office and ownership. Parker wasn't great. He was a bit heavy (he weighed in at 255 pounds), didn't shoot the ball well and got winded at times. Furthermore, two different sources told ESPN.com that Parker seemed a bit indifferent. One source said he thought Parker "tanked" the workout.

Why? A source says he strongly prefers to play in Milwaukee. The Cavs appear to be aware of this. "Jabari wasn't himself," one source said. "It was clear we weren't his first option."

Ironically enough, Ford still has Parker mocked to Cleveland first overall with Cleveland executives believing that his concerns will disappear once he arrives. Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving also played a year under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Before the right foot injury to Kansas center Joel Embiid, the Cavs were expected to take him, leaving Parker falling to the Milwaukee Bucks second overall. Parker is a native of Chicago, IL which is less than two hours from Milwaukee.

It's hard to imagine why a player would purposely throw his workout if it jeopardizes the chances of becoming the first overall selection.

According to scouts, Parker is the most NBA ready player in the draft and projects to average 15-20 points per game his rookie season. Parker has also been criticized for being out of shape and not giving maximum effort as the article suggests.

If the Cavs do pass on Parker, Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins is expected to be drafted first overall.