Thoughts on the Zach Edey Going to the Memphis Grizzlies

Much to my chagrin, not too much really happened during the first round of the NBA draft. No big names were moved. Some prospects got traded, as did some picks, but that always happens. I think I am getting a little too ahead of myself because free agency starts this Saturday, so that is when the real moves will get started. But, I had this hope that there would be something, anything that would have made the draft a little more exciting.

That being said, I do want to talk about one of the early picks that surprised me in a good way. The Grizzlies did not trade up, like I hoped, so they were stuck picking at nine. The guys I thought they may go with were all gone by this point as well. Donovan Clingan, Ron Holland, Rob Dillingham, they had all been taken before number nine. The Grizzlies need a center, so I have to assume they went with the best available guy on their board, and they ended up drafting Zach Edey from Purdue.

This was a shock at first. I have seen him jump in some recent mock drafts, but no higher than 14. Hell, during the college basketball season, I had written a blog about him going to the Spurs in the second round and how good I thought that would be. But last night he was a top 10 pick. He was drafted before dudes that all the mock draft nerds fell in love with this offseason. He is coming off two consecutive men's player of the year awards. He was the only real Boilermaker that showed up in the title game against UConn. He has dominated the Big 10 for three straight years. Zach Edey is a good throwback basketball player. And now the team I root for in the NBA took him in the lottery last night.

After the initial shock wore off, I kept thinking about his fit. I then listened to some other basketball writers talk about the pick, and I have to say, I'm pumped now. I understand he is older than most rookies, and he hasn't played a single second in the NBA yet, but damn I am excited about the potential. The Grizzlies are going to come into this season whole. Everyone is back, and everyone is healthy. Ja is going to come back and be better and stronger than ever. Jaren Jackson Jr is going to bounce back from a less than stellar season last year. Desmond Bane will have help. He won't be asked to do it all himself. GG Jackson is coming off a heater of a rookie year. Luke Kennard can shoot. Ziaire Williams has potential, but he can also be used as a trade asset. Marcus Smart is a solid guard to have next to Morant. The Grizzlies were the 2 seed in the West two years ago. This is a good team. Now, trading Steven Adams was brutal, but with the pick of Edey last night, I feel like they have his replacement in house. I definitely think Edey should be penciled in as the Grizzlies starting center right now. He is their best option. He is humongous. He is 7'5. The Grizzlies have never had this type of size. Edey hustles constantly. He does not take plays off. He will get in good enough shape to run with Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. He is going to set some bone rattling screens. Shooters are going to be open in the corners more than they have ever been in their career. He is going to get opponents bigs in early foul trouble. Teams will not be able to put smaller guys on him in the post. He will bury them. He won't have to be the anchor on defense. They have Jaren Jackson Jr to protect the rim and Marcus Smart to take care of the backcourt. Desmond Bane can defend too. Edey has the potential to be a very important player on this team. He fits like a glove. He should buy into his role right away. He is going to get a ton of minutes.

I am on board with this selection. The shock is gone and now I cannot wait to see how they implement Edey into their offense. I trust the coaching staff to do right by him, and the Grizzlies should be right back where they were a short two years ago. I am extra pumped for the next NBA season. I cannot wait. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

Zach Edey on the Spurs Makes Too Much Sense

As we get closer to March, I get more excited for the NCAA basketball tournament. Even with Michigan's men's basketball team having a bad season, the football team won the title by the way, in case you all forgot, I still want to watch the tourney. Hell, I'll even check in from time to time with the NIT. I like tournament basketball. The stakes are the highest, we get cool upsets and we see who the best of the best is in the end. The fact that the tournament is around the corner means that it is also the NBA mock draft season.

I look at these closer this time of year because I want to know what players to watch as we get into conference tournaments and March Madness. The mock drafts let me know who I may have forgotten about, or what player from a sleeper team I need to see. This was when my love for Ja Morant started. I saw his name fly up draft boards and I started to pay more attention as his Murray State team made a mini run in the tournament. So, I was looking at a mock draft on Bleacher Report a little bit ago and I saw that this writer had Zach Edey mocked to the Spurs as the 33rd overall pick, the first pick of the second round.

I kind of brushed it off and thought, Edey is big, strong and skilled, he may be a mid to late first rounder. But when I was cleaning my house, I thought a little more about this spot, and the team he was mocked to, the Spurs. For those that may not know, Edey is the starting center for Purdue. Purdue is a good team. They've been in the top 5 all year. And Edey is their best player. He also happens to be 7'4 and he weighs 300 pounds. That is one big dude. I watch him a lot, I'm a Michigan fan so I watch the Big 10 specifically, and not only is he big, Edey is skilled. He has great post moves. He is a good defender. He is a good rebounder due to his height. He is a solid passer. He can see over everyone. And he is pretty dominant in one of the better conferences in all of the country. The only knock on him is his outside shooting, which is non-existent. But, he should make for a fine bench/role player in the NBA. Him being 7'4 has got to be enticing. And this is not a Tacko Fall or Manute and Bol Bol thing. Those guys are very tall and kind of skilled. But they were skinny. Edey is skilled and thick. He will be able to deal with all the stuff that goes down in the post in the NBA. This all works in his favor.

Then, if the Spurs do draft him, they are teaming him up with Victor Webanyama, maybe the best young talent in the NBA. Wemby is amazing. He is supremely skilled. He can dribble like a point guard, shoot like a 2 guard, defend all positions, run an offense, have an offense run through him, rebound, be a menace on defense, he can basically do it all. He has been as advertised. I know the Spurs are very bad right now, but Wemby is worth watching. He is doing amazing stuff night in and night out. But, while he is 7'4 and can do pretty much everything, he is 18 and skinny. Edey can come in and take on the bigger guys in the league and let Wemby be a rover on defense. Edey can come in and find that his role is defense and rebounding, and let Wemby continue to blossom. He can be his backup, or the Spurs could start the two of them together in the low post. That would be a nightmare for opponents, trying to score over those two. Then you throw in a guy like Jeremy Sochan who is already a good defender and menace. He is also 6'8. The Spurs could go guard in this draft, but they do have Tre Jones, who has proven to be a good pick and roll player. They could let Zach Collins or Charles Bassey walk and be okay with Edey sliding into one of their spots. And guys like Malaki Branham, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson will be able to hound guards on the perimeter, knowing that they have two 7'4 guys waiting to protect the rim.

I kind of love this idea in this mock draft I read today. Pairing these two is an exercise I'd like to see take place. If Edey pans out even a little bit, the Spurs could be a force within a year or two simply due to their defense. I say do it San Antonio. Take Zach Edey at a reasonable spot if he is available in the upcoming draft. They are trying to build around Wemby, and building means protecting the young star. This will be a great protection on the defensive end. I hope it happens and I hope it works. These two on the floor at the same time would be very cool for me to watch as a fan. Go do it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.