Zach Edey, 7-4

[aminiaturebuddha]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/275751/Zach-Edey-On-NBA-Future-Im-Going-To-Stick-To-Who-I-Am

Lol, this guy is in no position to be making demands or proclamations.

Did you mean to link to a different article? I don't see anyone making any demands in the link you provided.

[Saints14]

Word is Clingan probably goes top three. Which means Edey to Memphis at 9 is likely. That'd be a great destination for Zach. The Grizzlies can bounce back into contention if they remain healthy. Morant-Smart-Bane-Jackson-Edey is a nice starting lineup. Out of all the potential lottery picks, Zach feels like the one prospect most likely to immediately contribute.

Memphis would be an EXCELLENT landing spot for Edey

[OriAr]

Read on Twitter

He's not wrong.

[ItsDanger]

Read on Twitter

[Jamaaliver]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

Read on Twitter

[King Ken]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

Read on Twitter

Bro, what are you doing?

[The-Power]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

It comes with trade-offs. The Thunder play with a 5-out offense and switch on defense. Edey would likely help them with rebounding but also alter OKC's otherwise successful identity. Sometimes the trade-offs are worth it but seeing a lack of rebounding and thinking that inserting a good rebounder solves the problem (without causing undesired ripple effects) is clearly much too simplistic.

[OriAr]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

It comes with trade-offs. The Thunder play with a 5-out offense and switch on defense. Edey would likely help them with rebounding but also alter OKC's otherwise successful identity. Sometimes the trade-offs are worth it but seeing a lack of rebounding and thinking that inserting a good rebounder solves the problem (without causing undesired ripple effects) is clearly much too simplistic.

It doesn't come without tradeoffs but the Thunder's lack of rebounding really hurt them, when your lead rebounder (Chet) has 6 rebounds COMBINED in games 5 and 6 it's simply far harder to win.
Edey's post ups could also be a good way to get some buckets when the 3s don't fall, which is something the Thunder desperately needed against Dallas. They were too reliant on SGA performing miracles to get a bucket in games 5 and 6.

[Jamaaliver]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

It comes with trade-offs. The Thunder play with a 5-out offense and switch on defense. Edey would likely help them with rebounding but also alter OKC's otherwise successful identity. Sometimes the trade-offs are worth it but seeing a lack of rebounding and thinking that inserting a good rebounder solves the problem (without causing undesired ripple effects) is clearly much too simplistic.

It doesn't come without tradeoffs but the Thunder's lack of rebounding really hurt them, when your lead rebounder (Chet) has 6 rebounds COMBINED in games 5 and 6 it's simply far harder to win.
Edey's post ups could also be a good way to get some buckets when the 3s don't fall, which is something the Thunder desperately needed against Dallas. They were too reliant on SGA performing miracles to get a bucket in games 5 and 6.

OKC may have gotten the #1 seed this season, but moving forward they'll have to contend with Minnesota, Denver, Dallas, Memphis, San Antonio.

Thunder will need interior size just to hang with those front courts.

Adding Edey for 25 minutes a night in drop coverage singlehandedly alleviates a ton of those concerns.

Yeah, there's a trade-off for doing so. But that's the case for largely every big man addition.

[Jamaaliver]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

Bro, what are you doing?

Talking about sports...on a sports forum?

[FrodoBaggins]

OKC needs size, physicality, and rebounding more than they need an offensive fit. They also need to develop alternative offensive strategies outside their five-out motion offense.

This idea that OKC's offense would cease to function without a center that shoots threes is something I don't agree with. I think the number of shooters on the court is more important and they made it work even when Giddey's shot wasn't falling. Gravity comes from rolling and interior presence as well as shooting. They need to add some wrinkles to their playbook.

Zach gives them 100% percentile size, physicality, and rebounding. He's also an elite PnR roll man and post-up player. Think of all the set plays you could run based around his ball screening and interior presence. Spread PnRs, Spain PnRs, staggered screens, horns, DHOs, etc. You can even play some inside-out from the block to generate open looks. And that three-point shot could translate too. Chip Engellend is known to work magic.

[King Ken]

Zach Edey to OKC solves a lot of their interior defense/rebounding issues, no?

Bro, what are you doing?

Talking about sports...on a sports forum?

You want to give OKC a ring or two

[Big J]

OKC needs size, physicality, and rebounding more than they need an offensive fit. They also need to develop alternative offensive strategies outside their five-out motion offense.

This idea that OKC's offense would cease to function without a center that shoots threes is something I don't agree with. I think the number of shooters on the court is more important and they made it work even when Giddey's shot wasn't falling. Gravity comes from rolling and interior presence as well as shooting. They need to add some wrinkles to their playbook.

Zach gives them 100% percentile size, physicality, and rebounding. He's also an elite PnR roll man and post-up player. Think of all the set plays you could run based around his ball screening and interior presence. Spread PnRs, Spain PnRs, staggered screens, horns, DHOs, etc. You can even play some inside-out from the block to generate open looks. And that three-point shot could translate too. Chip Engellend is known to work magic.

Plus he would have held up remarkably in this series when Luka forced him onto an island... oh wait.

[OriAr]

OKC needs size, physicality, and rebounding more than they need an offensive fit. They also need to develop alternative offensive strategies outside their five-out motion offense.

This idea that OKC's offense would cease to function without a center that shoots threes is something I don't agree with. I think the number of shooters on the court is more important and they made it work even when Giddey's shot wasn't falling. Gravity comes from rolling and interior presence as well as shooting. They need to add some wrinkles to their playbook.

Zach gives them 100% percentile size, physicality, and rebounding. He's also an elite PnR roll man and post-up player. Think of all the set plays you could run based around his ball screening and interior presence. Spread PnRs, Spain PnRs, staggered screens, horns, DHOs, etc. You can even play some inside-out from the block to generate open looks. And that three-point shot could translate too. Chip Engellend is known to work magic.

Plus he would have held up remarkably in this series when Luka forced him onto an island... oh wait.

Luka cooks everyone, that's why he's considered a top 3 player in this league.
Meanwhile I expect Edey to hold up OK against most guards in the league.

[Big J]

OKC needs size, physicality, and rebounding more than they need an offensive fit. They also need to develop alternative offensive strategies outside their five-out motion offense.

This idea that OKC's offense would cease to function without a center that shoots threes is something I don't agree with. I think the number of shooters on the court is more important and they made it work even when Giddey's shot wasn't falling. Gravity comes from rolling and interior presence as well as shooting. They need to add some wrinkles to their playbook.

Zach gives them 100% percentile size, physicality, and rebounding. He's also an elite PnR roll man and post-up player. Think of all the set plays you could run based around his ball screening and interior presence. Spread PnRs, Spain PnRs, staggered screens, horns, DHOs, etc. You can even play some inside-out from the block to generate open looks. And that three-point shot could translate too. Chip Engellend is known to work magic.

Plus he would have held up remarkably in this series when Luka forced him onto an island... oh wait.

Luka cooks everyone, that's why he's considered a top 3 player in this league.
Meanwhile I expect Edey to hold up OK against most guards in the league.

Luka cooks everyone, so lets make it even easier on him by throwing a 7'4 immobile big out there. Also what guard is Edey staying in front of? Even guys like Jordan Poole would eat his lunch.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Low post offense is awful because it takes way too long to set-up.

He needs to learn how to dribble and shoot so he can dribble into his post-ups... He could be a 30+ PPG scorer if he reaches Embiid level as a ball handler and shooter.

The odds of this happening are 1% at best.

Without high volume, he's just not very valuable.

[Big J]

Low post offense is awful because it takes way too long to set-up.

He needs to learn how to dribble and shoot so he can dribble into his post-ups... He could be a 30+ PPG scorer if he reaches Embiid level as a ball handler and shooter.

The odds of this happening are 1% at best.

Without high volume, he's just not very valuable.

He's too clumsy to dribble and shoot. His only move is a jump hook in the post over 6'8 guys.

[JRoy]

Low post offense is awful because it takes way too long to set-up.

He needs to learn how to dribble and shoot so he can dribble into his post-ups... He could be a 30+ PPG scorer if he reaches Embiid level as a ball handler and shooter.

The odds of this happening are 1% at best.

Without high volume, he's just not very valuable.

He's too clumsy to dribble and shoot. His only move is a jump hook in the post over 6'8 guys.

He hit it plenty over Clingan.

[FrodoBaggins]

Low post offense is awful because it takes way too long to set-up.

He needs to learn how to dribble and shoot so he can dribble into his post-ups... He could be a 30+ PPG scorer if he reaches Embiid level as a ball handler and shooter.

The odds of this happening are 1% at best.

Without high volume, he's just not very valuable.

Low-post offense is necessary for big men to take advantage of mismatches from switches, cross matches in transition, and small ball lineups. And having a competent post-up threat can be an option you can go to in a broken play situation. When post-up ability is combined with size, physicality, rebounding, and a strong PnR roll game, it makes for a very dynamic paint presence. And this is exactly what Zach Edey offers.

I don't believe offense will be his issue at all. I'm confident he'll be a 10-15 ppg, 10-12 rpg on 60%+ FG and 65%+ TS guy if he gets anywhere from 15-25 minutes per game. Boban averages 9.5 ppg to 15.9 ppg per 15 minutes and 25 minutes over his career with a peak of 11.5 ppg to 19.6 ppg in 2022. Zach is comparable as an extremely active per-minute scorer. He actually has the stamina to play more minutes though. And potentially the defense to be out there for extended minutes in the first place.

Defense is going to be what determines his career and role in the NBA.

But you're right about the offensive ceiling. He'll need to develop his shot and sharpen up his back-to-the-basket dribbling if he is to become a high-volume scorer. But those aren't pressing concerns. Do I believe he could be a star in the league? Yes, but I'm not sure he'll ever be given an opportunity to do so. Not many teams looking to build an offense around a low-post threat these days.

I think he'll be a high-level backup with a good chance to be a valuable starter in the right environment. That's as much as I'm willing to bet right now.

[greg4012]

Are people watching the playoff games presently and really projecting that Edey can have a positive role in them?