NBA Draft 2013: Alex Len to undergo surgery on ankle before draft

It's no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be looking for a big man at the top of the 2013 NBA Draft. It would make sense that Nerlens Noel is at the top of their list, but right after that could be the big man out of Maryland, Alex Len. Unfortunately for the Cavs (and those two players), both are working through some injury problems right now.

It was reported Friday by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski that Len will undergo surgery on his ankle to help fix a stress fracture. Therefore, Len will be recovering during much of, if not all of, the draft process. That means no individual workouts, no combine, etc.

Potential lottery pick Alex Len of Maryland had surgery to stabilize stress fracture in his ankle and will be out 4-6 months, his agent says

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 3, 2013

How will this impact his draft stock? It remains to be seen. If it is determined that this is something he has been playing through all season and could help explain his somewhat underwhelming performance, it might help him for all we know. But ultimately, I doubt it really hurts that much. Noel tore his ACL and seems to have actually gained steam as the number one overall pick. If a team, like the Cavs, needs a big man and think Len is the second best guy, they're going to take him.