The 2014 NBA Draft class, considered the most exciting since Kevin Durant and Greg Oden joined the league in 2007, has been hyped for over a year now.

Finally, it has arrived and while some of the hyperbolic lustre has worn off, this class is still one of the deepest in recent memory.

With injuries, stocks rising and falling and the potential for picks and players to be on the move, it will be even more compelling than usual.

Here are the three essential storylines on draft night, which gets underway in New York on Friday (UAE time: 04:00):

Who will Cleveland select?

The Cavaliers have had quite the luck in the past four draft lotteries, landing the top pick on three occa­sions. While they surprised many by selecting Anthony Bennett last year, it will be nearly impossible to botch the pick this time around.

Even with the injury concerns of centre Joel Embiid, Cleveland have two slam dunk options staring at them in Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. Though they can’t really go wrong, Wiggins makes the most sense for a team need­ing perimeter defence more than additional scoring. He’s not as NBA-ready as Parker, who will put up points from the get-go, but his ceiling is undoubtedly higher.

Where will Embiid land?

The Cameroon product was the leading candidate to be the top pick just last week, despite legitimate concerns over his back injuries.

However, Embiid’s recent foot fracture has all but guaranteed he won’t be the Cavs selection and could actually slide way down the board. With massive talent at the top, teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers will have a hard time passing on Jabari Parker and Dante Exum for an injured big man.

Orlando and Utah could take the risk, but they’ve both constantly been in the lottery and might pre­fer to turn it around sooner rather than later by collecting players capable of helping now.

That means Embiid could fall to the Boston Celtics at six, where no­torious gambler GM Danny Ainge could possibly walk away with the steal of the draft if the centre can stay healthy.

Mystery men

Exum highlights a list of intrigu­ing players who could up end up making the GMs that select them look smart. A cloud of mystery surrounds Exum, who played in Australia, where the point guard not only faced mediocre competi­tion, but just wasn’t seen in game action much by front offices.

But when his talents and skills have been on display, Exum has dazzled with an explosive first step and ability to get in the paint at will. At 6ft 6in, he possesses great size for either guard position and shouldn’t last past the fourth pick.

Two other fascinating players in the draft are Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine.

Anderson plays like a point guard, despite being 6ft 9ins, and has the nickname “Slo-Mo” for a reason. He plays at his own pace but is effective nonetheless and offers an interesting skillset.

LaVine, meanwhile, has explo­sive leaping ability and a sweet shooting stroke – two sought-after attributes. He still needs polish and his defence is a real issue, but his potential is sky high and makes for a tantalising roll of the dice.