Zach Edey, 7-4

[BlazersBroncos]

There are guys that ran worse in short area drills and sprints than Edey, and are much shorter and less lengthy, and they play anywhere from ok to great defense.

That said, they had to develop or have great defensice instincts and IQ to maximize their size while minimizing the foot speed deficiencies, and teams have to protect them as well.

Defensively Edey could be anywhere from awful to Jonas Val, to Steven Adams, to a bigger Brook Lopez depending on how he handles that. I don’t see anything on film or on paper that says he’s physically incapable of making it, but those old school dinosaur C’s that do make it today are very smart guys and still have some flaws that have to be accounted for.

Rudy tested much much much worse than Edey did, and I don’t remember how slow he looked as a rookie, but NBA strength and conditioning programs might have done him a world of good, it’s hard to believe he couldn’t beat some of the guys in a foot race that smoked him at the combine.

I’d be more interested in getting him in a film room and seeing how he digests and processes info.

Dont you know where your are? This is the Zach Edey thread, we dont have balanced, nuanced takes here. You either want to kill and eat his firstborn or sleep with him.

[MemphisX]

There are guys that ran worse in short area drills and sprints than Edey, and are much shorter and less lengthy, and they play anywhere from ok to great defense.

That said, they had to develop or have great defensice instincts and IQ to maximize their size while minimizing the foot speed deficiencies, and teams have to protect them as well.

Defensively Edey could be anywhere from awful to Jonas Val, to Steven Adams, to a bigger Brook Lopez depending on how he handles that. I don’t see anything on film or on paper that says he’s physically incapable of making it, but those old school dinosaur C’s that do make it today are very smart guys and still have some flaws that have to be accounted for.

Rudy tested much much much worse than Edey did, and I don’t remember how slow he looked as a rookie, but NBA strength and conditioning programs might have done him a world of good, it’s hard to believe he couldn’t beat some of the guys in a foot race that smoked him at the combine.

I’d be more interested in getting him in a film room and seeing how he digests and processes info.

Nuance? Glad to see it.

I agree. Context will matter a lot. I like him way more than most. He is 7'4 and 300lbs. Wemby has warped expectations of dudes that tall. Which means he has 4-5 inches on JV, Lopez, and Adams. I like the fact that he has not played basketball that long and the fact that he tries to go out and dominate every game.

[clyde21]

how is this a 41 page thread? at this point we all know exactly what Edey is, and it's either you think he can play in the league or not.

[bucknut]

The people who say centers who cannot shoot a 3 no matter how dominate they are do not fit in the modern nba....are the worst.

Josh giddy is a good NBA player and he can't shoot at a more important positional value to shoot. Many guards can't shoot. I don't even understand the argument that edey can't be successfull when it's already established his defensive footwork is adequate and not bobans level.

I also still fail to understand how a 3 is more efficient then a 90 percent 2 point shot on bbq chicken.

[Catchall]

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This is a great clip displaying Zach's defensive mobility. Very nice.

IMO, he moves like Valanciunas only bigger and slower.

[elias808]

Count me in on the pro Edey squad. The upside is far too high and the downside difficult to see. Obviously where you are drafted matters, but in a draft ripe with uncertainty, I’ll bet on someone with Edey’s intangibles.

Should be a top 5 pick.

[FrodoBaggins]

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This is a great clip displaying Zach's defensive mobility. Very nice.

IMO, he moves like Valanciunas only bigger and slower.

I disagree. I think Jonas looks faster because he's smaller and has a shorter stride length. There doesn't appear to be much of a difference to my eye; Edey is so much bigger he's covering just as much ground with fewer strides.

[JRoy]

I like Edey. I know it’s a risk but I would use a lotto pick on him.

[BigGargamel]

how is this a 41 page thread? at this point we all know exactly what Edey is, and it's either you think he can play in the league or not.

He's the most polarizing and interesting prospect in this year's class other than maybe Reed Sheppard, another guy with a long thread. There isn't much to talk about with this class.

[Big J]

The people who say centers who cannot shoot a 3 no matter how dominate they are do not fit in the modern nba....are the worst.

Josh giddy is a good NBA player and he can't shoot at a more important positional value to shoot. Many guards can't shoot. I don't even understand the argument that edey can't be successfull when it's already established his defensive footwork is adequate and not bobans level.

I also still fail to understand how a 3 is more efficient then a 90 percent 2 point shot on bbq chicken.

It’s not just that he can’t shoot. Plenty of bigs that can’t shoot are still in the league. He also can’t play perimeter defense, or pass the ball. 2 things that Giddey excels at.

[BlazersBroncos]

The people who say centers who cannot shoot a 3 no matter how dominate they are do not fit in the modern nba....are the worst.

Josh giddy is a good NBA player and he can't shoot at a more important positional value to shoot. Many guards can't shoot. I don't even understand the argument that edey can't be successfull when it's already established his defensive footwork is adequate and not bobans level.

I also still fail to understand how a 3 is more efficient then a 90 percent 2 point shot on bbq chicken.

Giddey isnt a great pillar to lean on as his lack of a 3PT shot this season has basically relegated him to bit player (24mpg) - as of late he is getting more PT and this coincides with either a hot streak or legit improvement from 3 (41% in MAR w/ a +/- of
+13.5 over 15 games).

That being said, for a guy as physically dominant as Edey I dont think a 3PT shot is a necessity. Will be more important that he doesnt get PNR'd to death.

[Jamaaliver]

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[JMAC3]

Good for Edey he is getting the March Madness bump that never can go wrong... Davion Mitchell, Jarrett Culver, Agbagi, Napier...

Kemba Walker is really the only tourney darling that has really paid off

[babyjax13]

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I'm not sure how these highlights address any concerns about his lateral mobility. Almost all of it is him backpeddling as defenders drive more-or-less straight into him. We will have a better sense on a wider court, and maybe we will see him getting spaced a bit against UConn.

TBH I don't think there is a player with more to gain/lose by participating in combine scrimmages. If he can effectively defend perimeter players there he'll go lottery or close to it.

[TheSuzerain]

I like Edey. I know it’s a risk but I would use a lotto pick on him.

I think people overrate the 'risk' involved in a lotto pick.

Most of them do not clear the 'MLE' level of quality.

[TheSuzerain]

Good for Edey he is getting the March Madness bump that never can go wrong... Davion Mitchell, Jarrett Culver, Agbagi, Napier...

Kemba Walker is really the only tourney darling that has really paid off

His whole situation is bizarre as this isn't really a performance flare-up. He's been by far the best player in the NCAA for two years now.

He was considered undraftable last year which was lunacy as he's essentially the same player.

[JMAC3]

Good for Edey he is getting the March Madness bump that never can go wrong... Davion Mitchell, Jarrett Culver, Agbagi, Napier...

Kemba Walker is really the only tourney darling that has really paid off

His whole situation is bizarre as this isn't really a performance flare-up. He's been by far the best player in the NCAA for two years now.

He was considered undraftable last year which was lunacy as he's essentially the same player.

Being the best college player has proven it doesn't matter for NBA success.

Other guys who have won POY in the college basketball
Hansbrough, Jimmer, Trey Burke, Kaminksy, Denzel Valentine, Frank Mason, Doug McDermott, Obi Toppin, Luka Garza, Oscar Tshiebwe.

All of those are in the last 15 years, so more often than not that player actually has a better chance to be bad. Seems like a pretty worthless datapoint to use.

[JMAC3]

And if you want to bury Edey even more all those guys that won and have been disappointments are upper classmen besides Obi, who was OLD aF for a sophomore.

The guys I didn't include were Blake, Durant, AD, Zion, Evan Turner, Brunson and Buddy.

So out of the 11 seniors who won the award during that span 2 were seen as successful in Brunson and Hield.
So Edey has under 20% chance that he can fall in the favorable side of being an upperclassman who won POY.

[TheSuzerain]

Good for Edey he is getting the March Madness bump that never can go wrong... Davion Mitchell, Jarrett Culver, Agbagi, Napier...

Kemba Walker is really the only tourney darling that has really paid off

His whole situation is bizarre as this isn't really a performance flare-up. He's been by far the best player in the NCAA for two years now.

He was considered undraftable last year which was lunacy as he's essentially the same player.

Being the best college player has proven it doesn't matter for NBA success.

Other guys who have won POY in the college basketball
Hansbrough, Jimmer, Trey Burke, Kaminksy, Denzel Valentine, Frank Mason, Doug McDermott, Obi Toppin, Luka Garza, Oscar Tshiebwe.

All of those are in the last 15 years, so more often than not that player actually has a better chance to be bad. Seems like a pretty worthless datapoint to use.

More than half the POYs become solid rotation guys. And there are quite a few stars or at least good starters in there. That seems a strong a signal as you're going to get when it comes to draft prognostications.

And he's not just the POY. He's the most dominant player in the last 25 years. So we don't have a population of those to consider. He's the only one.

[Big J]

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I'm not sure how these highlights address any concerns about his lateral mobility. Almost all of it is him backpeddling as defenders drive more-or-less straight into him. We will have a better sense on a wider court, and maybe we will see him getting spaced a bit against UConn.

TBH I don't think there is a player with more to gain/lose by participating in combine scrimmages. If he can effectively defend perimeter players there he'll go lottery or close to it.

Even in a lot of those clips he was just sitting back and conceding the COLLEGE 3. I don't think I saw him guard beyond the 3 point line once there. That **** aint gonna fly in the league.