Zach Edey, 7-4

[greg4012]

Great post. A big man being able to finish plays in the paint is just as important as his ability to protect it on defense. But we never hear enough about those offensive shortcomings when they're there. Or when they're an incredible strength, such as in Edey's case. Andre Drummond and Nerlens Noel are both weak finishers yet I never heard enough about that. Even bigs like Kessler avoid contact because they are poor free-throw shooters and don't want to go to the line.

The best, first line of defense is a strong half-court offense.

The point about irrational hatred is spot on too. I've talked about this in this thread; we have numerous posters who fit this bill.

You call it hatred, I call it a refusal to live in fantasy world where we make believe that we've time traveled back to the big man post up days of the 90s.

I call it a refusal to see all the other ways he positively affects the game.

Yes, he posted up a lot at Purdue & those opportunities will decrease in the NBA.
But he's even more deadly in the P&R - which he'll have even more opportunities (if he has a good guard)

Do you have any concern about the low volume of Pick and Rolls he ran in college and if he will be able to maintain great efficiency ramping it up significantly?

[FarBeyondDriven]

I may regret it but I've decided to move him up my board and readily admit some my reasoning is based on me rooting for the kid because the whole world seems to be against him. I just can't imagine he's not at minimum capable of producing like Nurkic, Poeltl and Zubac. But I expect he'll be better and that might not be a lottery pick but it's worth something

[The-Power]

I just can't imagine he's not at minimum capable of producing like Nurkic, Poeltl and Zubac. But I expect he'll be better and that might not be a lottery pick but it's worth something

If you truly believe his floor is those guys (and that he's likely even better), then this should be such an easy lottery pick considering those guys are all lottery players in a re-draft. If that was his floor and he's likely to be even better, that's a pretty easy top 5 pick even.

[crows2]

I may regret it but I've decided to move him up my board and readily admit some my reasoning is based on me rooting for the kid because the whole world seems to be against him. I just can't imagine he's not at minimum capable of producing like Nurkic, Poeltl and Zubac. But I expect he'll be better and that might not be a lottery pick but it's worth something

If you expect him to be better than those guys then he's worth a lottery pick.

[QingJames]

https://theswishtheory.com/2024-nba-draft-articles/2024/06/the-edey-enigma-a-systematic-defense-of-a-generational-talent/

Great post. A big man being able to finish plays in the paint is just as important as his ability to protect it on defense. But we never hear enough about those offensive shortcomings when they're there. Or when they're an incredible strength, such as in Edey's case. Andre Drummond and Nerlens Noel are both weak finishers yet I never heard enough about that. Even bigs like Kessler avoid contact because they are poor free-throw shooters and don't want to go to the line.

The best, first line of defense is a strong half-court offense.

The point about irrational hatred is spot on too. I've talked about this in this thread; we have numerous posters who fit this bill.

You call it hatred, I call it a refusal to live in fantasy world where we make believe that we've time traveled back to the big man post up days of the 90s.

And yet you believe that we’ve time traveled even earlier to the 60s and 70s where undersized guards who can’t shoot have a role in the NBA, like Bronny. I would much, much rather draft Edey who at least has a skill that will be elite at the NBA level (interior finishing) than a prospect who had no elite skills at the college level and certainly won’t at the NBA level.

Bronny might be more “interesting” but if you think Edey can’t play in the modern NBA you should keep that same energy for Bronny.

[Big J]

Great post. A big man being able to finish plays in the paint is just as important as his ability to protect it on defense. But we never hear enough about those offensive shortcomings when they're there. Or when they're an incredible strength, such as in Edey's case. Andre Drummond and Nerlens Noel are both weak finishers yet I never heard enough about that. Even bigs like Kessler avoid contact because they are poor free-throw shooters and don't want to go to the line.

The best, first line of defense is a strong half-court offense.

The point about irrational hatred is spot on too. I've talked about this in this thread; we have numerous posters who fit this bill.

You call it hatred, I call it a refusal to live in fantasy world where we make believe that we've time traveled back to the big man post up days of the 90s.

And yet you believe that we’ve time traveled even earlier to the 60s and 70s where undersized guards who can’t shoot have a role in the NBA, like Bronny. I would much, much rather draft Edey who at least has a skill that will be elite at the NBA level (interior finishing) than a prospect who had no elite skills at the college level and certainly won’t at the NBA level.

Bronny might be more “interesting” but if you think Edey can’t play in the modern NBA you should keep that same energy for Bronny.

Where are you getting that I think Bronny can play? All I have said is that he is the most interesting story of this draft.

[Big J]

Read on Twitter

[The Moose]

Top 10.

Edey nation lets celebrate

[FrodoBaggins]

Top 10.

Edey nation lets celebrate

I'm laughing at those who said he wasn't a lottery pick let alone a first-rounder.

[MemphisX]

Edey is about to feast playing off of Ja.

[TheSuzerain]

Is he the ROY favorite?

Seems the presumptive starter on a likely playoff team.

Someone tag me when ROY betting odds are posted.

[atlantabbq99]

ZE needs an elite defensive PF to succeed in the NBA. If Zac can play along side a hyper athletic PF who is great at switching, then a team can use Zac like how the Bucks use Brook Lopez.

Wemby, Giannis, and Jaren Jackson Jr are the only guys I can think of that make an Edey front court work

Well I called it...

ZE should be fine with JJJ

[FrodoBaggins]

ZE needs an elite defensive PF to succeed in the NBA. If Zac can play along side a hyper athletic PF who is great at switching, then a team can use Zac like how the Bucks use Brook Lopez.

Wemby, Giannis, and Jaren Jackson Jr are the only guys I can think of that make an Edey front court work

Well I called it...

ZE should be fine with JJJ

It's a great fit. Many good examples of how it's going to look with Zach from this video featuring Steven Adams:

Watch on YouTube

The dream is that Zach becomes something of a Brook Lopez/Steven Adams mix on defense. Rim protector, paint deterrent, and rebounder.

[Bank Shot]

I have a hard time arguing against the pick after seeing what 10-20 looked like. A bunch of likely bench players with limited upside. Why not take the swing.

[FrodoBaggins]

A couple of GIFs of Adams/JJJ vs. Jokic and Denver. Look at that shot-blocking help defense.

Watch on YouTube

[Chuck Everett]

I like the fit. Zach couldn't have asked for a better type of team to cover for any weaknesses defensively he may have then the Memphis "try-hard" Grizzlies. And since he has great hands and can finish, all he really needs to do is be ready in the dunker's spot to eat off of Morant drives to the bucket. Consider me intrigued. He has a legit chance at ROY in this spot.

[BAMAFREAK]

Love it. As good of a fit for both player and team as we could hope for. As stated above, JJJ should cover his ace a good bit defensively while Edey will cover JJJs rebounding issues.
He is going to be a picking machine for Ja and it’s going to be a lot of action at the rim offensively.

He’s probably the best bet for ROY and I’m not sure it’s close right now.

[FrodoBaggins]

I like the fit. Zach couldn't have asked for a better type of team to cover for any weaknesses defensively he may have then the Memphis "try-hard" Grizzlies. And since he has great hands and can finish, all he really needs to do is be ready in the dunker's spot to eat off of Morant drives to the bucket. Consider me intrigued. He has a legit chance at ROY in this spot.

I could see it happen if he gets similar minutes to what Steven Adams got per game. 26.5 mpg for 7.5 ppg and 10.6 rpg. If Edey gets that many minutes he'll probably score 12-14 ppg just by virtue of his superior finishing, rolling, foul-drawing, and free-throw shooting. And post-up game. In Memphis, Adams shot 47.3% FT and 63.7% FG from 0-3 feet. With Zach, you'll get 70-75% FT and 75-80% from 0-3 feet.

Something like 25 mpg, 12-14 ppg, 10-12 rpg, very high efficiency, and team success could win ROY if none of the other rookies stand out.

A lot of ifs, but it's not completely unrealistic.

[Chuck Everett]

I like the fit. Zach couldn't have asked for a better type of team to cover for any weaknesses defensively he may have then the Memphis "try-hard" Grizzlies. And since he has great hands and can finish, all he really needs to do is be ready in the dunker's spot to eat off of Morant drives to the bucket. Consider me intrigued. He has a legit chance at ROY in this spot.

I could see it happen if he gets similar minutes to what Steven Adams got per game. 26.5 mpg for 7.5 ppg and 10.6 rpg. If Edey gets that many minutes he'll probably score 12-14 ppg just by virtue of his superior finishing, rolling, foul-drawing, and free-throw shooting. And post-up game. In Memphis, Adams shot 47.3% FT and 63.7% FG from 0-3 feet. With Zach, you'll get 70-75% FT and 75-80% from 0-3 feet.

Something like 25 mpg, 12-14 ppg, 10-12 rpg, very high efficiency, and team success could win ROY if none of the other rookies stand out.

A lot of ifs, but it's not completely unrealistic.

Without seeing the roster composition, Edey is my favorite for ROY. He's the only guy with a guaranteed path to quality minutes from Day One. All Zach really needs to do is be efficient on offense, not turn over the ball and clean the glass and he'll have all the minutes he can handle. Taylor Jenkins has proven he'll play a guy regardless of seniority if they can handle it.

[Big J]

Him going this high is actually a bad thing. The expectations will be too high for him.