With Jaylen Brown’s supermax contract about to expire, Jayson Tatum poised to sign a supermax deal, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White set to sign contract extensions, and the Celtics in a precarious financial scenario, it is evident that Brad Stevens needs to perform well with his forthcoming draft picks. There is one person the organization is definitely keeping an eye on with the 30th choice in this year’s draft: Zach Edey is a 7-foot-4 Purdue standout.
This season, Edey has been the Boilermakers’ most potent player, averaging 25.0 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 62.9% shooting from the field. Throughout the tournament, he has performed even better, averaging 30.0 points and 16.3 rebounds, with a 40-point performance against Tennessee in the Elite Eight.
Though Edey is a classic in-the-paint big man who does not shoot threes and has the athleticism to recover to defend the perimeter, he is not the kind of draft pick that has the inside track with NBA scouting.
According to an Eastern Conference general manager who spoke with Heavy Sports, “there aren’t many teams that could plug Zach Edey into their rotation and just be like, ‘OK, this works, this makes sense.” The challenging aspect of him in this draft is that. He is essentially a finished product, despite the significant upside draft. You’re cool with that if you’re from Boston. He has been under their radar the entire season.
Zachary Edey Foot Slow, May Face Difficulties in the NBA
The Celtics are, of course, a huge fan of 3-pointers. They are the league leaders in both 3-point percentage (38.8%) and 3-pointers attempted (42.6). In addition, they play excellent stripe defense, allowing just 34.9% from the field, which is second in the NBA. If Edey were to play a plodder, he could kill those figures.
Kristaps Porzingis will start at center for the Celtics, as Al Horford is signed through to a contract for the upcoming season and Luke Kornet has proven himself in the rotation. Why Edey, then?
One league assistant coach told Heavy, “They like to post you up.” “They know how to get inside the defense and post you up, but their 3-pointers are what draw the most attention.” Thus, if your child is similar to Edey and he
In fact, the NBA statistics show that the Celtics run post-ups on 7.5% of their plays, second only to the Nuggets’ 7.9%. However, at 1.12 points per possession in the post, they are tied with the Pacers for first place in the NBA. Last year, they ranked 24th in terms of post-up frequency (2.8%).
The coach remarked, “Porzingis is a big part of that.” Of course, Porzingis’s greatest asset is his adaptability. That is not what Edey has. We would be discussing him as the top choice if he did. However, Zach Edey is the best player in the draft if you’re the Celtics and want to hone in on that post-up play with your backup.
Among the Top NBA Post-Up Teams is the Celtics
For the Celtics, Edey’s tournament performances may have been a double-edged sword. In addition to giving the other 29 teams additional incentive to take a chance on him in the draft, he has demonstrated how dominant he can be despite being a big man with little athleticism.
Once the workouts begin, “he could fall to the early second round,” the general manager stated. But in the past few weeks, he has really assisted himself. In the draft, his maximum age is in his late teens. It’s not a good draft; Miami, Milwaukee, and the Knicks are among the contenders who might be looking for a sure thing. He can’t be started, but he can be played immediately away and is reasonably priced. That will appeal to certain teams.
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