Zach Edey, 7-4

[victorhe]

Edey needs to do more sky hook. Feels like gets blocked while trying to dunk a few times. But it is only his first year. Good to have traditional big man back to the NBA.

[jasonxxx102]

seems to be finding his confidence and comfort a bit now

last 5 games:
13 ppg 9 reb 1.5 blocks 68% FG and 81%FT in 22 mpg
positive +/- in all 5 games

Context:

the 5 opponents the Grizzlies faced.

Philly
Brooklyn
Lakers
Washington
Portland

5 of the absolute worst teams in the league against backup "bigs". Also, if we're going to look at +/- let's remember his real +/- is still negative.

He's actually -49 relative to the teams MoV.

[jasonxxx102]

Bottom line is that Edey is still a net negative on both ends of the floor. He's never going to be a starting big man who's going to impact a game. He will never be in crunch time lineups or in big games. He's far too limited on both ends to be a great player

[ItsDanger]

"Far too limited to be a great player"? Define great. What is this obsession that every player must be all star, all-NBA, etc? Nothing wrong with being a 25-28 minute C that rebounds and offers rim protection with some scoring. There is only one ball out there. ANd every team needs those quality 3rd/4th option scorers, role players. Maybe he does better than that, we'll see in time.

When making a lottery selection in each draft, is the objective to get a HOF player every time? This is an unrealistic objective.

[clyde21]

Bottom line is that Edey is still a net negative on both ends of the floor.

i'm not an Edey guy but you say this like he's a 10 year vet...what do you mean *still*? he's a **** barely 10 games into his rookie season.

[GoBobs]

Bottom line is that Edey is still a net negative on both ends of the floor. He's never going to be a starting big man who's going to impact a game. He will never be in crunch time lineups or in big games. He's far too limited on both ends to be a great player

Pretty sure most teams would be more than happy to have the guy leading all rookies in fg made and total rebounds while shooting 65% from the floor.

If you were any good at making predictions you would have realized he was one of the best prospects in this draft.

Saying a 22 year old former 2x college player of the year currently on pace for NBA rookie of the year, will never be a starting big that impacts the game is sounding kinda dumb bro....

[jasonxxx102]

Bottom line is that Edey is still a net negative on both ends of the floor. He's never going to be a starting big man who's going to impact a game. He will never be in crunch time lineups or in big games. He's far too limited on both ends to be a great player

Pretty sure most teams would be more than happy to have the guy leading all rookies in fg made and total rebounds while shooting 65% from the floor.

If you were any good at making predictions you would have realized he was one of the best prospects in this draft.

Saying a 22 year old former 2x college player of the year currently on pace for NBA rookie of the year, will never be a starting big that impacts the game is sounding kinda dumb bro....

don't worry, we will come back to this in 3 years and I'll be right.

Same people told me the same stuff about James Wiseman (who was so obviously not a good NBA player)

Edey doesn't have negative BBIQ like Wiseman did but he offers you nothing that's important in the modern NBA. People wishcasting Edey like it's 1990 again

It's so hilarious watching people talk about everything EXCEPT his actual game to rationalize why he's going to be good. As if leading ROY odds 10 games into the season is an indicator of anything other than how terrible this draft class is.

Anyone remember Emeka Okafor? Do you remember he won ROY? Bet you didn't

[jasonxxx102]

"Far too limited to be a great player"? Define great. What is this obsession that every player must be all star, all-NBA, etc? Nothing wrong with being a 25-28 minute C that rebounds and offers rim protection with some scoring. There is only one ball out there. ANd every team needs those quality 3rd/4th option scorers, role players. Maybe he does better than that, we'll see in time.

When making a lottery selection in each draft, is the objective to get a HOF player every time? This is an unrealistic objective.

Should I go back and quote the people in here calling this guy great?

A 25mpg C who you can't play in important games is fine when you take him in the 2nd round but not in the top 10.

That's his ceiling. A high efficiency situational big who you bring off the bench and put in when the games don't matter.

[ItsDanger]

"Far too limited to be a great player"? Define great. What is this obsession that every player must be all star, all-NBA, etc? Nothing wrong with being a 25-28 minute C that rebounds and offers rim protection with some scoring. There is only one ball out there. ANd every team needs those quality 3rd/4th option scorers, role players. Maybe he does better than that, we'll see in time.

When making a lottery selection in each draft, is the objective to get a HOF player every time? This is an unrealistic objective.

Should I go back and quote the people in here calling this guy great?

A 25mpg C who you can't play in important games is fine when you take him in the 2nd round but not in the top 10.

That's his ceiling. A high efficiency situational big who you bring off the bench and put in when the games don't matter.

That's a question for 2025 draft that has higher upside scorers, not 2024. Like I said, there's only 1 ball. Taking home run swings at every draft slot in every draft is foolish.

[jasonxxx102]

"Far too limited to be a great player"? Define great. What is this obsession that every player must be all star, all-NBA, etc? Nothing wrong with being a 25-28 minute C that rebounds and offers rim protection with some scoring. There is only one ball out there. ANd every team needs those quality 3rd/4th option scorers, role players. Maybe he does better than that, we'll see in time.

When making a lottery selection in each draft, is the objective to get a HOF player every time? This is an unrealistic objective.

Should I go back and quote the people in here calling this guy great?

A 25mpg C who you can't play in important games is fine when you take him in the 2nd round but not in the top 10.

That's his ceiling. A high efficiency situational big who you bring off the bench and put in when the games don't matter.

That's a question for 2025 draft that has higher upside scorers, not 2024. Like I said, there's only 1 ball. Taking home run swings at every draft slot in every draft is foolish.

I get it, it was a super thin draft. Grizzlies needed a big and there was nothing available.

If I were the Grizzlies I would much rather have Ware but he's not NBA ready yet and they needed someone they could put on the court day 1. and despite how he has looked so far nobody was taking Missi in the top 10. I don't really fault the Grizzlies for making the pick because they didn't have any other good options but this is going to end up being such a waste.

If you just look at the board he has the most posts of any player (I only went back like 20 pages) and more posts in his thread than the last 4 ENTIRE draft threads.

I don't know why he has ever been hyped to this level. It's completely illogical. Nobody can name a single non-shooting, non-perimeter defending big who's made an impact on a playoff team in probably 20 years. The era of the back to the basket big has been dead for years.

Nobody is going to guard this guy outside of 3ft because there's no need. He can't play anything but a deep drop and can't switch onto the perimeter because he gets blown by, by bench players. He's not starting anymore for a reason and he's feasting against backups.

[victorhe]

If Eddy sucks, then what about all the other rockies. I guess it almost feels like even if eddy is going to be an all star, whatever he did doesn’t matter. If it makes you happy, let’s all say Eddy is the worst pick ever in the history of NBA. I get it now. .

[jasonxxx102]

Me: Eddy isn't going to be a good NBA player *lists multiple reasons why*

Random Poster: So you think he's the worst player ever drafted

[clyde21]

Me: Eddy isn't going to be a good NBA player *lists multiple reasons why*

Random Poster: So you think he's the worst player ever drafted

what was your top 10 leading up to the draft? did you post your big board?

[KembaWalker]

Bottom line is that Edey is still a net negative on both ends of the floor. He's never going to be a starting big man who's going to impact a game. He will never be in crunch time lineups or in big games. He's far too limited on both ends to be a great player

Pretty sure most teams would be more than happy to have the guy leading all rookies in fg made and total rebounds while shooting 65% from the floor.

If you were any good at making predictions you would have realized he was one of the best prospects in this draft.

Saying a 22 year old former 2x college player of the year currently on pace for NBA rookie of the year, will never be a starting big that impacts the game is sounding kinda dumb bro....

don't worry, we will come back to this in 3 years and I'll be right.

Same people told me the same stuff about James Wiseman (who was so obviously not a good NBA player)

Edey doesn't have negative BBIQ like Wiseman did but he offers you nothing that's important in the modern NBA. People wishcasting Edey like it's 1990 again

It's so hilarious watching people talk about everything EXCEPT his actual game to rationalize why he's going to be good. As if leading ROY odds 10 games into the season is an indicator of anything other than how terrible this draft class is.

Anyone remember Emeka Okafor? Do you remember he won ROY? Bet you didn't

i dont really know whats going on in this thread but quoting a guy named GoBobs and accusing him of not knowing Okafor won ROY is pretty funny to me. like 99.99% of the time you'd be right but we cherish one of our 3 or 4 NBA awards of the last 20 years

[FarBeyondDriven]

If Kessler, Adams, Gobert, Poeltl, Olynyk and their ilk have managed to carve out productive careers I see no reason Edey can't. He's not a finished product. The game will slow down for him and he'll gain confidence. Sure, he was drafted higher than he deserved but he fits a need and he's possibly a worthy starter or at worst, a capable backup. Once he's settled in and can knock down some 15 footers or even threaten from three it'll help unclog the paint for his teammates. Why people insist on crowning guys so early or writing them off so early is beyond me. We're like three weeks into the season ffs. Edey has already had a 25-12 with 4 blocks game. People need to relax

[The Moose]

I was obviously very high on Edey, my favourite comps predraft were jumbo+ better Zubac or Adams. I still consider that his median outcome.
I see some people say that these types of players can't possibly return top 10 value in a draft, but that just doesn't hold water to me. I know they aren't the 'sexy' pick, but I don't care about 'aesthetics'. Aesthetics will have you drafting guys like "Cody Williams" in the top 10. These 'unsexy' picks can return good value, even when drafted high.

Respective ranks in their draft class:
Plumlee: 4th in VORP, 4th in WS
Adams: 7th in VORP, 3rd in WS
Poetl: 9th in VORP, 4th in WS
Zubac: 11th in VORP, 3rd in WS
Ayton: 6th in VORP, 6th in WS

I think there are a lot of reductive arguments made today about what is 'acceptable' or 'playable' in the 'modern day' NBA, and people will try to cast away anyone who doesn't fit into that argument while overlooking other avenues players can actually make a positive impact.

For players like Edey (and players like Zubac, Poetl, Adams) their offensive value primarily will come from offensive rebounding, space creation and efficient scoring. I think this guy summarises the idea pretty succinctly. And agree that the biggest issue currently for Edey is his turnovers are negating the possession advantage he is creating via rebounds.

Read on Twitter

I suspect these turnovers will calm as he continues to get acclimated to the NBA pace and defenders.
Additionally there is very real potential of a respectable 3pt shot.
Edey in 12 games has made 4 threes, Plumlee, Adams, Poeltl and Zubac in 2575 games have combined to make 6 threes.
His stock rates haven't been too bad, 5th in C's for STL rate, 15th in NBA for BLK rate.

And also, defensively he really hasn't been haemorrhaging points in the way some people want us to believe. People can post as many individual/cherry picked clips as they want but Memphis has been a good team, both offensively and defensively, when he is on the court. Now, they have been a good team when he is not on the court too, so I'm not saying he's single-handedly driving all success, but the idea that he is some James Wiseman level unplayable scrub is just simply not backed up at all. Go look at how every team James Wiseman has ever been on has performed when he's on the court and get back to me.
That 'unplayable' or gimmick concept should be dead with him at this point, but it seems like a few are still going to die on that hill.

I will be very surprised if he isn't able to return a top 10 VORP in this class.

I'm interested to see how the rest of the season plays out, he's improved a lot since the first couple of games were he looked shellshocked and unconfident.

[jasonxxx102]

If Kessler, Adams, Gobert, Poeltl, Olynyk and their ilk have managed to carve out productive careers I see no reason Edey can't. He's not a finished product. The game will slow down for him and he'll gain confidence. Sure, he was drafted higher than he deserved but he fits a need and he's possibly a worthy starter or at worst, a capable backup. Once he's settled in and can knock down some 15 footers or even threaten from three it'll help unclog the paint for his teammates. Why people insist on crowning guys so early or writing them off so early is beyond me. We're like three weeks into the season ffs. Edey has already had a 25-12 with 4 blocks game. People need to relax

This is such a random assortment of players who don't resemble each other or Edey at all.

Kelly Olynyk? He's 6'10 and has always been able to shoot the ball.

Gobert is one of the best defensive players of the last decade. He and Edey have absolutely nothing in common other than being tall. Zach Edey cannot move his hips anywhere near as good as Gobert and he's a below average shot blocker for his size. The reason Edey is so terrible at guarding anyone in space is because his hips are so slow. It takes forever for him to turn his body and by the time he does he's getting blown by.

Adams, Kessler, and Poeltl just aren't very valuable players today so I guess if you want to comp them, sure. At least Kessler can kind of stay on the floor because he's an elite shot blocker.

Edey is easily the least mobile of any of those names you mentioned. It's not even that he's a poor spacer on the offensive end, he's absolutely useless defensively.

Just go watch the 4th against the Lakers. It was a close game and Memphis could not score because Edey was clogging up the paint and the Lakers were just abusing him defensively. AD coming down the floor hitting pull up mid range shots because he knows Edey can't come out and guard him. Putting Edey in PnR over and over again. Lakers missed a lot of open shots where Edey was just stuck in no mans land because he can't do anything but play drop

[jasonxxx102]

4 awful defensive possessions in a row and Edey loses the Grizzles the game. Gives up a wide open mid, gets blown by and fouls AD, and then gives up back to back wide open 3s. Just watch the film, it's so obvious how bad he is defensively.

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/11/13/0022400225/621/a2d824eb-6cbc-f5db-2955-077713bd3cfb_1280x720.mp4

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/11/13/0022400225/629/4c8ef159-bbd7-1b45-f63b-022a4e3a6724_1280x720.mp4

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/11/13/0022400225/648/7f0c82a6-d9cc-b321-9882-0ea3d77d4ebd_1280x720.mp4

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/11/13/0022400225/658/59dd6c68-5448-6954-eb11-734297969758_1280x720.mp4

This is not cherry picking clips. This is what Zach Edey looks like defending in space against a good team. Clap and cheer while he beats up on scrubs and backups but games like this are exactly why he's not going to be an impact player on a good team.

[ItsDanger]

Playoffs are about matchups. Anyone who's followed sports knows that.

[FrodoBaggins]

I was obviously very high on Edey, my favourite comps predraft were jumbo+ better Zubac or Adams. I still consider that his median outcome.
I see some people say that these types of players can't possibly return top 10 value in a draft, but that just doesn't hold water to me. I know they aren't the 'sexy' pick, but I don't care about 'aesthetics'. Aesthetics will have you drafting guys like "Cody Williams" in the top 10. These 'unsexy' picks can return good value, even when drafted high.

Respective ranks in their draft class:
Plumlee: 4th in VORP, 4th in WS
Adams: 7th in VORP, 3rd in WS
Poetl: 9th in VORP, 4th in WS
Zubac: 11th in VORP, 3rd in WS
Ayton: 6th in VORP, 6th in WS

I think there are a lot of reductive arguments made today about what is 'acceptable' or 'playable' in the 'modern day' NBA, and people will try to cast away anyone who doesn't fit into that argument while overlooking other avenues players can actually make a positive impact.

For players like Edey (and players like Zubac, Poetl, Adams) their offensive value primarily will come from offensive rebounding, space creation and efficient scoring. I think this guy summarises the idea pretty succinctly. And agree that the biggest issue currently for Edey is his turnovers are negating the possession advantage he is creating via rebounds.

Read on Twitter

I suspect these turnovers will calm as he continues to get acclimated to the NBA pace and defenders.
Additionally there is very real potential of a respectable 3pt shot.
Edey in 12 games has made 4 threes, Plumlee, Adams, Poeltl and Zubac in 2575 games have combined to make 6 threes.
His stock rates haven't been too bad, 5th in C's for STL rate, 15th in NBA for BLK rate.

And also, defensively he really hasn't been haemorrhaging points in the way some people want us to believe. People can post as many individual/cherry picked clips as they want but Memphis has been a good team, both offensively and defensively, when he is on the court. Now, they have been a good team when he is not on the court too, so I'm not saying he's single-handedly driving all success, but the idea that he is some James Wiseman level unplayable scrub is just simply not backed up at all. Go look at how every team James Wiseman has ever been on has performed when he's on the court and get back to me.
That 'unplayable' or gimmick concept should be dead with him at this point, but it seems like a few are still going to die on that hill.

I will be very surprised if he isn't able to return a top 10 VORP in this class.

I'm interested to see how the rest of the season plays out, he's improved a lot since the first couple of games were he looked shellshocked and unconfident.

Great post.