2024 NBA Draft: Zach Edey

Today we’re looking at the Canadian big man from Purdue. Despite putting up some historic numbers in college, there are some valid concerns when it comes to Edey’s game in an NBA setting.

For more draft reading, be sure to check out the rest of the scouting reports in this series starting with Yves Missi.

Zach Edey | 7’5 Big | Purdue | 22 years old

The Intro

The guy would have gone first overall if this draft took place 20 years ago.

A Canadian, Edey’s naturally been a popular name in Raptors fandom. He has a hardware cabinet to rival some of the most dominant college basketball greats, and he’s continually improved his game year over year while at Purdue. One would expect players with unique size to be more injury prone due to the stress on their joints, but Edey’s been just as durable as he’s been dominant during his college career.

Why is he seen as more of a late round pick instead of a lottery talent?

A multitude of reasons.

The Offence

You don’t average over 25ppg in college by being bad offensively. Even if it was in Purdue’s gameplan to let Edey work the post on every posession, it was for a good reason. Showcasing excellent touch, size, and strength; Edey mimics my own dunks on my cousin’s 4 foot Fisher Price hoop at Thanksgiving.

Being 7’5, Edey towered over a vast majority of college players, and that will continue in the NBA. Sure, the likes of players like Giannis, Embiid, Wembanyama, and Gobert will make Edey’s life a living hell in ways that a 5’8 point guard from a mid-major never could – but Edey should be able to get the occasional easy bucket just due to his combination of size and touch.

A dominant post-up big who became more of a screener with the Canadian team, Edey’s role has expanded a little bit more in recent years. He sets solid screens as well when the team calls for it.

He’s capable of passing out of post-ups if he doesn’t have a shot. While I wouldn’t expect him to be a playmaker in a more involved sense, or develop the superior playmaking vision of bigs like Clingan or Holmes, he isn’t a black hole and will help keep the ball moving if things start to grind to a halt.

There’s no perimeter game to speak of. While Edey gets to the line often and converts free throws at a rate above 70%, he has no jumper to speak of and it’s too late in the game to suggest he’s capable of developing one. His footspeed is dreadfully slow and he’s definitely not a big who can roam the floor, dodging defenders while waiting for a pass.

Edey’s post-game has somewhat gone the way of the dinosaur in the NBA. While there is still some value for post play in today’s league, teams won’t be feeding Edey the same way he was used to at Purdue. It just doesn’t make sense for an offence. And if Edey’s not in that starring role, his role in the NBA becomes far more situational.

He’s not suited for a transition-heavy offence as he made no field goals in transition at Purdue.

The Defence

Edey’s a fantastic rim protector and rebounder. I don’t think teams are going to have to worry about this very much at the next level. He’s fairly intelligent, has great positioning, and doesn’t bite on many fakes.

While Edey’s size makes him an imposing presence at the rim, drawing him anywhere outside the paint causes trouble for him. Guarding a team with a 5-out offence would likely render Edey unplayable.

His footwork has improved, granted, but he’s still very slow, and was often caught off guard when the game sped up at the college level. Guards often blew by Edey with ease. At the NBA level, I would imagine things will get worse for him.

Brendan’s Take

For the last few years I had Edey as a fun college player who would make for an equally fun second round or undrafted flier – a novelty prospect a team could utilize in unique situations due to his size.

After diving into some of his film, he’s helped me improve my opinion of him. I had to take a step back and realize that this class is unique in it’s not-goodness – and Edey at least has a translatable NBA skill and a unique physical profile that propels him into “yeah, why not” territory.

Don’t get me wrong – the concerns with Edey on defence are still there. I think that he’s going to get abused by any team that draws him out of the paint (which will likely be all of them). His cement feet will likely keep him on the bench in late game scenarios. But his sheer dominance in the paint is going to be enough for an interested team in the late first round to take a flier on Edey and groom him to be a backup big for a couple guaranteed buckets and boards per night – and I wouldn’t fault them for it.

I have Zach Edey as a first round prospect in this class (mid 20’s on my board), though in most other classes I’d likely have him as an early second round guy. I personally wouldn’t pick him at 19. If the Raptors had another pick in the mid 20’s, I’d entertain the idea since they could take someone with a higher ceiling earlier in the draft while using a flier on Edey. I don’t think the fit makes a whole lot of sense, however. And with only having one pick in the first round, I don’t subscribe to the belief that we should be drafting players just because of their nationality.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s scouting report on Wolverine’s favourite guard.

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