Zach Edey, 7-4

[ItsDanger]

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Edey and Garza aren't alike at all.

[TheSuzerain]

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Edey and Garza aren't alike at all.

If Edey in lotto gains steam, it'll be interesting how it's presented by the draft nerds.

It's basically bull **** to act like he was a 2nd rounder or undraftable last season and now suddenly he's a lotto pick.

[FarBeyondDriven]

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Edey and Garza aren't alike at all.

lol Givony. No wonder the takes are so bad on here. You people worship this bum

[Hal14]

Read on Twitter

Edey and Garza aren't alike at all.

If Edey in lotto gains steam, it'll be interesting how it's presented by the draft nerds.

It's basically bull **** to act like he was a 2nd rounder or undraftable last season and now suddenly he's a lotto pick.

How it's presented by draft nerds? You're literally replying to a post that contains a tweet which answers that question lol

Givony says: "Zach Edey is now a projected lottery pick after finding another gear with his conditioning, mobility and productivity. He has shown better versatility blocking shots and stepping outside the paint defensively, while dunking and drawing fouls in bunches."

We already covered this. He was not projected to be drafted by any of the mocks last season prior to withdrawing from the draft on 5/31/23.

How did he go from not on draft boards last year to possibly being a lottery pick halfway through this season? Is that a serious question? This kind of stuff happens every year! Ochai Agbaji wasn't on most draft boards, returned to college for senior season, then the next year went lottery. Same thing happened with Jalen Williams. No one even heard of him, so he returned to school for another yea, and goes 12th pick in the draft. Davion Mitchell wasn't on draft boards, returned to school, then goes 9th overall to Sacramento. LaRavia, Braun and Eason went later in the 1st round but were all guys who returned to school after not being on draft boards the year before.

Ivey, Keegan Murray and mathurin weren't very high on draft boards, went back to school and then both go in the top 10.

No one knew who Podziemski was, he transferred and then goes 1st round the next year.

It happens all the time. These guys all went back to school, worked on their games, got better, they matured. Got in better shape. And the good players from the previous draft all got drafted so there was more opportunity for them to rise up draft boards the next season - I mean, the last couple of drafts there's only been like 10 or so 1 and done prospects who are legit which leaves room for upperclassmen to move up. Last year was a deeper, better draft than this one - and as Givony says, Edey is now in better shape and is defending outside of the paint more now, etc.

[TheSuzerain]

Read on Twitter

Edey and Garza aren't alike at all.

If Edey in lotto gains steam, it'll be interesting how it's presented by the draft nerds.

It's basically bull **** to act like he was a 2nd rounder or undraftable last season and now suddenly he's a lotto pick.

How it's presented by draft nerds? You're literally replying to a post that contains a tweet which answers that question lol

Givony says: "Zach Edey is now a projected lottery pick after finding another gear with his conditioning, mobility and productivity. He has shown better versatility blocking shots and stepping outside the paint defensively, while dunking and drawing fouls in bunches."

We already covered this. He was not projected to be drafted by any of the mocks last season prior to withdrawing from the draft on 5/31/23.

How did he go from not on draft boards last year to possibly being a lottery pick halfway through this season? Is that a serious question? This kind of stuff happens every year! Ochai Agbaji wasn't on most draft boards, returned to college for senior season, then the next year went lottery. Same thing happened with Jalen Williams. No one even heard of him, so he returned to school for another yea, and goes 12th pick in the draft. Davion Mitchell wasn't on draft boards, returned to school, then goes 9th overall to Sacramento. LaRavia, Braun and Eason went later in the 1st round but were all guys who returned to school after not being on draft boards the year before.

Ivey, Keegan Murray and mathurin weren't very high on draft boards, went back to school and then both go in the top 10.

No one knew who Podziemski was, he transferred and then goes 1st round the next year.

It happens all the time. These guys all went back to school, worked on their games, got better, they matured. Got in better shape. And the good players from the previous draft all got drafted so there was more opportunity for them to rise up draft boards the next season - I mean, the last couple of drafts there's only been like 10 or so 1 and done prospects who are legit which leaves room for upperclassmen to move up. Last year was a deeper, better draft than this one - and as Givony says, Edey is now in better shape and is defending outside of the paint more now, etc.

Those guys generally had transformative offseasons or showed up on the scene for the first time.

Edey didn't. He's the same level of prospect as he was last year.

[Hal14]

If Edey in lotto gains steam, it'll be interesting how it's presented by the draft nerds.

It's basically bull **** to act like he was a 2nd rounder or undraftable last season and now suddenly he's a lotto pick.

How it's presented by draft nerds? You're literally replying to a post that contains a tweet which answers that question lol

Givony says: "Zach Edey is now a projected lottery pick after finding another gear with his conditioning, mobility and productivity. He has shown better versatility blocking shots and stepping outside the paint defensively, while dunking and drawing fouls in bunches."

We already covered this. He was not projected to be drafted by any of the mocks last season prior to withdrawing from the draft on 5/31/23.

How did he go from not on draft boards last year to possibly being a lottery pick halfway through this season? Is that a serious question? This kind of stuff happens every year! Ochai Agbaji wasn't on most draft boards, returned to college for senior season, then the next year went lottery. Same thing happened with Jalen Williams. No one even heard of him, so he returned to school for another yea, and goes 12th pick in the draft. Davion Mitchell wasn't on draft boards, returned to school, then goes 9th overall to Sacramento. LaRavia, Braun and Eason went later in the 1st round but were all guys who returned to school after not being on draft boards the year before.

Ivey, Keegan Murray and mathurin weren't very high on draft boards, went back to school and then both go in the top 10.

No one knew who Podziemski was, he transferred and then goes 1st round the next year.

It happens all the time. These guys all went back to school, worked on their games, got better, they matured. Got in better shape. And the good players from the previous draft all got drafted so there was more opportunity for them to rise up draft boards the next season - I mean, the last couple of drafts there's only been like 10 or so 1 and done prospects who are legit which leaves room for upperclassmen to move up. Last year was a deeper, better draft than this one - and as Givony says, Edey is now in better shape and is defending outside of the paint more now, etc.

Those guys generally had transformative offseasons or showed up on the scene for the first time.

Edey didn't. He's the same level of prospect as he was last year.

Well, Givony says he's a different prospect now.

"Zach Edey is now a projected lottery pick after finding another gear with his conditioning, mobility and productivity. He has shown better versatility blocking shots and stepping outside the paint defensively, while dunking and drawing fouls in bunches."

From the film I've seen, Edey also looks like he's improved as a passer - showing better vision, instincts with kick out passes, making them really quickly so the offense can flow better and the defense has less time to react..

Also, this years draft class is much weaker and less deep than last year's, which obviously allows guys like Edey, McCullar and Filipowski to go higher..

[Colbinii]

Some of you guys pick the weirdest hill to die on.

Arguing about whether a prospect who personally withdrew from a draft would have been a lottery/1st round pick had he stayed in the draft?

[TheSuzerain]

Some of you guys pick the weirdest hill to die on.

Arguing about whether a prospect who personally withdrew from a draft would have been a lottery/1st round pick had he stayed in the draft?

I'm not arguing he would have gone that high.

I just think he's been a lotto caliber prospect for at least two years now. That's not me projecting what I think NBA teams would/will do, it's just me saying where I'd pick him.

[CP War Hawks]

I still like ZE, he has that dawg in him. If he can work in the low post and give good passes to his shooters he can be a starter or high level back up.

Still a low 1st or high 2nd grade for me tho.

[tester551]

I still like ZE, he has that dawg in him. If he can work in the low post and give good passes to his shooters he can be a starter or high level back up.

Still a low 1st or high 2nd grade for me tho.

Agreed.

When he was projected at the end of the 2nd (last year and thus far this season), it was way too low. Now that it looks like he's being projected as a mid-first (at least by some) - that is way too high.

Edey will be a good player in the NBA. He should be able to get ~18-24 minutes a game. He'll have the level of impact of a Zubac or Hartenstein type player (ie- lower level starter to high bench player type).

[TheSuzerain]

I still like ZE, he has that dawg in him. If he can work in the low post and give good passes to his shooters he can be a starter or high level back up.

Still a low 1st or high 2nd grade for me tho.

Agreed.

When he was projected at the end of the 2nd (last year and thus far this season), it was way too low. Now that it looks like he's being projected as a mid-first (at least by some) - that is way too high.

Edey will be a good player in the NBA. He should be able to get ~18-24 minutes a game. He'll have the level of impact of a Zubac or Hartenstein type player (ie- lower level starter to high bench player type).

I think what separates him from a Zubac or Hartenstein is that those dudes can be guarded by a small ball 5 or a skinny rim protector without too much trouble. I don't think that flies with Edey.

And that's even to mention that Zubac is #4 in his draft class in Win Shares. Hartenstein is #16 in total win shares and #5 in WS/48. Is that not worth a lotto selection?

[cupcakesnake]

Some of you guys pick the weirdest hill to die on.

Arguing about whether a prospect who personally withdrew from a draft would have been a lottery/1st round pick had he stayed in the draft?

I'm not arguing he would have gone that high.

I just think he's been a lotto caliber prospect for at least two years now. That's not me projecting what I think NBA teams would/will do, it's just me saying where I'd pick him.

There were reasons to be high on him last year. I've always felt his mobility was a little underrated, but it's fair to be super skeptical/cautious with oversized players considering how rare they hit. Edey's heavy diet of post-up offense and deep drop defense didn't give us a lot to go on. I always felt he looked super light on his feet whenever he'd be diving into the paint, and now that we're seeing a lot more high ball screens, it's more obvious that he can move better than some thought.

I think it's still plenty uncertain, but I'm cautiously optimistic about Edey's chances as an NBA prospect.

[EvanZ]

Didn’t you guys read the article that said Edey lost ten pounds thus making him lightning quick?


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[BigGargamel]

Read on Twitter

Edey and Garza aren't alike at all.

lol Givony. No wonder the takes are so bad on here. You people worship this bum

It's a shame how far Givony has fallen. I honestly loved Draft Express back in the day. It was my go to. Final straw was when he had Bronny at #10 during his first 2024 Mock, even though he was ranked at like 25 on The ESPN 100. Totally crashed his credibility when he sold his soul to the ESPN overlords.

I would not spend a lottery pick on Edey at all but I am warm to the idea of Denver drafting him late in the first round as a backup to Jokic. Could do worse in this draft. I think a few seniors will be picked late in the 1st (Ighodaro, McCullar, da Silva, Edey, Kolek)

[ItsDanger]

I posted the Givony tweet more for the video as a sample of certain game situations. Late lottery seems ambitious as my own projection is maybe 25-40 range. Its not unheard of for these analysts to "promote" on behalf of other parties. Also, big guys like this carry injury risk historically so spending high draft capital on a 7'4 guy that could have foot/back problems, you just never know. Edey has a lot of weaknesses and a lot of strengths but that requires a certain style to be used by the team that takes him (probably only 10 or so currently).

Lot of comments in the draft thread seem to ignore the talent reality of the NBA. Lots of teams play a similar style. So, when you have a talent deficit in terms of scoring/shooting, you WILL lose in the long run playing the same as teams with more talent. ESPECIALLY in a 7 game series. Therefore, a team (especially non FA destination teams) should explore other styles. If it fails using a 2nd rounder, no one cares and you can move on quickly. Teams often get married to flawed lottery picks and don't move off them quick enough.

[The Moose]

30 and 20 today

[TheSuzerain]

Let's see how he fares against projected first runner/prototype modern big Kel'el Ware!

Utter domination. Made Ware his bitch.

[The-Power]

Let's see how he fares against projected first runner/prototype modern big Kel'el Ware!

Utter domination. Made Ware his bitch.

I feel like you're too emotionally invested in this.

I don't think anyone doubts that Edey can produce numbers, even in the NBA. For sure nobody believes that Edey isn't an exceptionally dominant college player, so these performances take absolutely nobody by surprise. The question is and always has been whether it's worth building your offense around him in the NBA. If you do, you commit to running your offense through an elite low-post player with very little range and limited passing ability. There's no current precedent for it, so it's an inherently risky endeavor. If you don't, then is he still a high-minutes starter considering his lack of range and defensive versatility?

I'm not entirely sure yet where I'll end up with Edey. I'm not out on him. But the questions are not only reasonable but necessary to ask. And it's understandable if people come to different conclusions. Edey is an inherently difficult prospect to evaluate and the range of justifiable placements on someone's big board is much broader than for perhaps any other prospect. You should be able to at least understand that even if you personally disagree.

One thing is for sure, though: Edey dominating in college with his style of play is unlikely to change anyone's mind no matter how often you point it out when he performs well. Everybody knows already that he's a college superstar with the ability to dominate any individual match-up.

[CptCrunch]

What scares me about Edey is he is producing less this year than last. To not see progress in college is dissapointing.

[The-Power]

What scares me about Edey is he is producing less this year than last. To not see progress in college is dissapointing.

Is he producing less? He's producing pretty much the same and it's tough to improve on his elite level of production. How much more than 40+ PTS and 20+ REB per 100 can a player realistically produce? If anything, it's not production but skill development that has not gone as I would have hoped for. Edey is who he is at this point. Last year, this year, next year – we pretty much know what kind of player he is. What we don't know is how it'll translate to the NBA and whether it's really worth running things through him as a starting C.