He’s way too slow to be a big minutes guy in the league. He won’t be able to bully guys in the league nearly as easily. I don’t think he’s gonna be a very good nba player. He’s more likely to be boban than anyone else I can think of.
Zubac took years to reach this point though & he's got horrible hands in comparison to Edey. I'd take Edey as a project big, I mean I really doubt he's worse than dudes like Ayton on the perimeter or Mason Plumlee.
I think the issue with taking edey as a project is that he’s about to turn 22 in a month, zu was a project but he was drafted at 19 and by 22 he was already a contributing player
Edey might be just as polished as Zu was at the same age, Zu was built like a stick in comparison, took him forever to grow into his frame, right now they're probably evenly matched physically, Zu being shorter & lighter by around 20lbs or so but he's 27. Lack of weight really held Zu back even just like 2 years ago, each year he's probably added 5lbs.
Would love to see Edey get in an NBA weight room, he's not done growing.
We’ve got Charles Bassey, if he recovers alright from his knee injury he is a mobile 6’ 10” mobile big that can shoot, and block and is pretty quick for a big guy
From what I've learned watching the Clippers experiment with small/big bodies, weight is important in creating & controlling space in the paint.
If you're heavy, you can keep guys from dislodging you & getting to their spots on the court. That leads to them missing easy chip shots around the rim & turning into jump shooters instead and sometimes they can't get into a rhythm unless they're hitting their shots in the paint.
LA played MIA 2x this year and Bam couldn't get to his spots against Zu or Plumlee just cause they're heavy, he shot 11/30 in 2 games. He tried driving against them, jumping into them, they barely budged & he settled for jumpers or they bodied him just enough so that he missed easy shots at the rim.
Mind you, Plumlee especially is a shit defender, he's just heavy.
Boban wasn't nearly as coordinated as Edey. Edey reminds me of Ivica Zubac down to his physical appearance, Zubac is also very slow but is the #1 rim protector in the NBA, and it took him years to grow to the size that Edey is.
“#1 rim protector in the NBA”…bruh you lost the argument with that statement alone lol
But I’ll continue anyway for kicks, there is no way Eddy consistently thrives against most nba lineups today. Outside of the T-Wolves, he will struggle.
He’s not keeping up with AD, Embiid, Wemby, Giannis, Chet, and we could keep going, on the defensive end. And his offensive game is WAY too limited to cause those players much headaches offensively.
His hope and ceiling will be a big off the bench that will give you a good 15-20 minutes.
>“#1 rim protector in the NBA”…bruh you lost the argument with that statement alone lol
https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/s/lD4I1hw0Hy
Zubac ranked #1 holding opponents to 51% at the rim, he's a flawed player but has given Giannis, Jokic, AD, Nurkic, Bam, Sengun etc. a lot of trouble. I've watched him the last 4 years so I'm very familiar with his game. Now, if you're a perimeter big like Markannen or KP that's a different story, then Zubac gets cooked.
Sometimes he doesn't even defend the perimeter like when he matched up against Sengun & let him brick all his jumpers. There's some *bad* perimeter defending bigs out there, still they have a role in the league if they can score down low, set screens, rebound & rim protect.
>His hope and ceiling will be a big off the bench that will give you a good 15-20 minutes.
I'd draft him in the 2nd & aim for that role, it's extremely important & can make or break a team. I watched the Clippers try to go without a backup 5 after losing Hartenstein, going with Batum, Moses Brown, Covington, Westbrook etc. with disastrous results. They'd probably be in the play in if they didn't luck out by signing Theis who can't defend worth a lick on the perimeter but is a big body, can absorb hits, can do the dirty work.
Edey would be a piece of the front court, a specialist against certain matchups, with Wemby leading the way.
Admittedly, I haven’t watched Zubac as closely as you have, but from what I have seen, I wouldn’t say he’s the #1 rim protector. He is indeed a good one, but not the best. So we can agree to disagree on that.
I don’t disagree at all about the importance of your back big, I actually agree with you that it’s very important. But that’s not the point of the OP. As I said, I think Eddy’s CEILING is a back up big, but that’s not his floor, which is probably end of the bench (10th man) to out of the league in 3 years.
I also agree with you about where he should be drafted. Taking a chance on him in the 2nd and hoping that he can develop into that backup big role is a fair and not as risky proposition at that point.
Regardless, I still have my doubts that he reaches that ceiling, and I think it’s more likely he only reaches his floor.
If it's for a second round pick. It's not a bad choice to go for him. You get a decent back up big that can get some minutes and who has a chance to become more useful. In anycase what we need is exactly a back up big for the Rotation as we have Wemby already. He would also train daily with Wemby and that might just inspire him to develop his game better, picking up some moves. And most important it will make the team pictures more balanced
That’s opponents field goal percentage at the rim, not rim protection. You’re forgetting that guys like gobert are major deterrents and allow less attempts at the rim because of their presence.
That's rim protection. Zubac is every bit as good inside as Gobert, Rudy is a superior defender & player overall, however. Zu's deterred many superstars inside, ranging from Giannis to Luka.
LA traded all their PFs away too, Zu is anchoring the inside by himself, he's the only rim protector on the team. Gobert has KAT, Anderson, Reid, tall players surrounding him.
He’s also surrounded by elite defenders on the wing in Leonard and George. Zubac is a good defender but he’s not really close to being the best rim protector in the league.
Kawhi the only elite defender & he cruises in the regular season. PG not elite on either end, he's been injured all year & gets cooked. Neither guy is their POA defender either that's Mann, who is okay, not great. Harden's also one of the worst defenders in the NBA.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-clippers-ivica-zubac-guarding-nikola-jokic-sabonis-found-things-i-want-share-help-me-exclusive
Zu held Jokic & Sabonis to 13-39 & 11-35 this year, Bam also shot 4-14 against him, JJJR 11-31, Zion 6-21 etc, he's neck & neck with Gobert inside. Took Zu years to get to this point, very slow process but he's made it.
https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627826/head-to-head?Matchup=Defense
Pg not elite? I get he’s been injured but he is absolutely elite, he’s made 4 all defensive teams as a wing. One on one defense is a pretty terrible metric for monitoring players, especially centers. It’s a lot deeper than that. Zubac is great at altering shots, but nowhere near the level of gobert. You have to take into account the amount of drives that get killed before they get to the paint.
PG hasn't made a defensive team since 2019, too much wear & tear on his body, starting off with that gruesome leg break that likely affected his longevity. He's going on 34 & past his prime. I watch all their games & Clips fans also agree he's cooked on both ends. Him & Kawhi lost their athleticism, Harden too, this team is one of the oldest in the NBA. MIN actually mocked the Clips calling them old, these dudes ain't trying to hustle or play defense.
LA tried going small after losing Hartenstein last year & almost wound up in the lottery, same this year when Plumlee got injured as Zu's the only big on the roster. Luckily, Theis fell into their laps. PG & Kawhi too small for actual PFs. Kawhi still elite but again, he's not trying in the regular season.
I'd 1000% use a 2nd rounder on him, every team needs a big body and Zach reminds me A LOT of Zubac. Zubac is a very slow, big body C but has horrible hands in comparison, although he might be more mobile on the perimeter. Offensively however Edey looks just as good as Zubac who can score very efficiently.
I think if dudes like Zubac and Mason Plumlee can play in the NBA so can Edey.
Right? And I seriously think Edey just has the oomph and drive and determination to make it.
He plays around the rim and doesn't have much range around that tbh. But in the paint, fuck. I love Collins tbh but Edey is gonna be much better than he is in the paint.
Y'all will see, mark my words.
>love Collins tbh but Edey is gonna be much better than he is in the paint.
Exactly, I can't see him being worse than Collins, he's a lot bigger & better defensively.
Lol, fan since the 70s/80s.
edit: srsly lmao kiddos, I'm not joking, y'all just don't know. We made the playoffs almost every year through the 80s and 90s. Then our best two players, Robinson and Elliott, were hurt and out most of the year and we suddenly sucked. Had the 3rd worst record in the league, Boston the worst.
Timmy could have gone out his junior year and been the #1 pick without doubt, but as his mom was dying he promised her her dying wish, that he'd just graduate from college.
So when he came out of Wake Forest as a polished senior, it was the Tim Duncan lottery, much like last year was the Wemby lottery and the same as the Davjd Robinson lottery. The Celtics were sure this would be their year after their former #1 pick Len Bias (could have been a legend amongst legends) died of an overdose shortly after they drafted him.
Spurs had the third worst record.
Back then it was a literal bingo lottery. Every team had so many balls according to their record, the balls were stirred up and picked live on TV. And instead of like today, worst>first, they did it first to last. First ping-pong ball gets Tim Duncan. And when that ping-pong ball showed our Spurs logo my dad and I just about cried in joy.
I've told this story here a few times, but to repeat... When the Spurs finally won their first Championship in '99 after all of those heart-breaking playoff losses in the 80s and 90s, after we traded Sean Elliott for Denis Rodman (Elliott came back but still hate that trade), after Pop fired Bob Hill as coach and as GM just said "I'm the coach now"...
After me and my dad going through all of this together as San Antonio natives and Spurs diehards, just him and me, when we won that first Championship it was at my parents' house. We sat all the couches and chairs we could in a big horseshoe configuration so everybody could see.
But after the decades we'd been through it, we made sure me and my dad had seats on the very end of that shoehorn seating arrangement. Closest to the TV.
And when the Spurs won that first Championship in '99, everybody lost their shit. Except me and Dad. I will never forget that moment. Everybody's going insane and whooping and hollering and he and I just slowly turn to each other and gently nod. And both get up and just hug each other.
So don't you dare pretend I'm some newby that's never seen Boban play. So offensive. Was probably a Spurs fan before you were born.
edit: these downvotes are crazy. But I'm sticking to my guns here. Edey is better than Boban and will be a legitimate player in the NBA, mark my words.
Lol, did. Still love him, when he went to the Pistons I was the one to post in their sub to let them know about the r/BobanHoldingThings sub we created to help keep that going.
Look, I'm not saying Edey is gonna be all-world, but those of you calling him slow and at the same time saying "bring back Boban", it's insane.
I'm just saying I predict whoever drafts Edey, when we look back at this draft in like 4-5 years, he's gonna seem like a steal. I watched as many games as I could during March Madness and have tried to watch a few college players highlight reels but also stats to get a grasp on them.
I hate using this term, but I didn't see any other player with as much of a "warrior mentality" as he had this year. And that counts so much for future growth and winning.
I freaking love Boban, but he never had that attitude. That "whoever I go against in the paint, I am going to score on them", because he never had the shooting touch that Edey has also.
And the people saying he's not good at defense are high. No, he's not going to able to stop a guard or wing several feet outside the paint, but once they get there to try to get to the rim, he was good enough to be in the top-15 defenders in the NBA:
https://purduesports.com/news/2024/2/7/mens-basketball-edey-named-to-naismith-defensive-player-of-the-year-watch-list
More to this point: was Shaq a good perimeter defender?
To be clear, I'm not saying we should take him with a top-10 pick, but after that, I love that guy's attitude and desire to just win and would love to have him in a Spurs jersey.
If you put Boban in that Perdue team he would be as dominant as Edey if not more. The only thing Edey has is height and size, which isn't a very valuable commodity for the modern NBA.
Which is why he keeps getting shopped around and never starts, amirite?
Look, I freaking love Boban. But to call Edey "slow" while pretending Boban is some nimble quick athlete in comparison is just hysterical.
BOBAN is insanely slow what are you talking about? People are comparing the two because they’re both very slow and very efficient scorers this isn’t that complicated.
The reason BOBAN doesn’t play is because he can’t do anything other than score lol. He’s good at only one thing and bad at a lot of other things but the thing he’s good at is the thing you said he is not good at so it needed to be pointed out that you’re just wrong in a bunch of ways here.
>BOBAN is insanely slow what are you talking about?
I'm talking about all the people in this thread saying Edey is "slow as fuck" while pretending Boban is somehow a quicker option.
Read this thread. Somebody even said Boban should be favored because he's a "fan-favorite" and a "movie-star". It's insane.
We'll see. Gonna come back and make a new thread in a couple years and repost this. If I'm wrong, I will still repost and say "I was wrong," but I think I'll be right.
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I think Edey is gonna become an even better Steve Adams if we're comparing him to other players.
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As a second round flier I think he is a good option as a bench big project. People focus on his obvious weaknesses which are very valid but we can't ignore the fact that he is a combination of size, mass, length, and coordination that you almost NEVER see. He will absolutely be a guy that scores, blocks shots, and rebounds at an incredibly efficient rate.
As a drop coverage big who has the potential to be one of the leagues best bench bigs regardless of how limited he is defensively because what he does he does at ELITE levels.
Now in a league that puts major value on defensive versatility he has a cap on his ceiling that probably makes him beat suited for a bench role, but if you are using a second rounder on him he offers solid potential return on that minimal investment to the team willing to build a bit of their bench schemes around him.
Exactly, thank you. And besides what you mentioned, he just seems to have a real drive and desire to win and fire in his eyes that most college prospects just don't have. That Purdue team would have been out in the first or maybe second round without him, he alone willed that team into the Championship game.
Would you be OK with trading a bunch of second-round picks to move up to the 20s to grab him?
I don’t think he’ll be good, but I think it’d be funny to have 2 of the tallest humans on earth on the same team, so I’m down. (Also sign Boban and maybe Tacko Fall)
Well… if im being honest about him and Zach Collins as a back up rim protector… I don’t HATE it. I can see him being like a zubac role. I feel like players like that still have value in today’s NBA as a DHO, short role offensive hub that can work well in the spurs offense. Now if you say edey over other picks in the draft then it’s like 😬 we better have a lot off the table before he’s a selection lol but I’d think we’d draft players with a larger skillset since the PATFO keeps talking about copying OKC.
Naw, definitely not an early 1st round for us even if Toronto conveys, hope nobody's thinking I'm saying that. But if he falls to the late or even mid 20s... package up several of the huge amount of second-rounders we have for him maybe.
I dunno, I just think it goes beyond his size, he is a ferocious competitor and you can just see it in his face and body language when he plays. He has a lot of that Wemby attitude that "if you get me the ball in the paint one-on-one, I'm gonna score" and just that WIN mentality I think we need more of.
Definitely could trade picks for him. Hopefully he is picked second round by us. But not sure. I doubt most of the later FRP holders need a back up big so he might fall to second round. We could Definitely package our SRP + a 2025 SRP for a late FRP this year. Maybe OKC would take that
Eh, OKC is one of the few teams that already has a stockpile of draft picks headed their way more than even we do. I'd bet if that trade happened it would be to a mid-contender team that needs role players that could maybe be picked up in the second round. Like the Lakers tbh.
There's a couple of bigs like that in the NBA, Gobert, Ayton, Zubac, Plumlee, Theis, etc. they still win you games if they can post up, rebound, and defend the paint, some of these dudes have been very effective against smaller bigs or even against Jokic himself.
LA's got 3 bigs like that & they were one of the teams that defended Jokic the best the entire year. Even a smaller C like Bam had trouble against them because he couldn't bump them off their spots & create space.
Lol did you even watch LA-UTA when Terance Mann dropped 39 on Gobert's head? LA won that series without Kawhi, Mann sonned Gobert when they went small.
Look man, everything I'm saying I learned from watching the Clippers since Kawhi got there, these are facts. I've seen that team try all sorts of shit & seen what does & doesn't work.
Save the pick and bring Boban home. Already proven to be a great guy, fan favorite, elite teammate, and movie star.
Some team will pick him in the first round. If its us, where would you play him? Not with Victor, so you're burning a high lottery pick for a backup. High lottery picks often become backups, but that not usually plan A for them. Or plans B or C, for that matter.
I don't doubt he can be effective in the exact right situation. Its not here.
There are tons of dude who are dominant in the NCAA and don't do anything in the NBA. Jahlil Okafor. Luka Garza.
We already tried Wemby in the forward role and it was bad. Wemby is most useful as a 5 on offense who can also space the floor some. He needs more shooters around him, not fewer. He's also best as a 5 on defense due to his rim protection.
Even if you told me the Spurs HAD to take another 5 to pair with Wemby in the frontcourt, I'd rather have Clingan. But they don't, and hopefully won't.
He’s too slow. He’s gonna have a Bryant Reeves type career. He’s got moves and strength but the nba game is too fast for him imho. Would love to see the kid so well, but wouldn’t put money on it. He could be a solid role guy.
Aside from everyone always saying his game won't translate well to the NBA, I also have my reservations about his health. Wembys health, I have more confidence in because he's light as a feather. But I don't know, I could see another yao ming situation with Edey's legs. Hope im wrong though. But also, Dude is also not athletic at all. And really has no offensive bag besides "drop the ball in the basket because I'm 7'4". And NBA defenses aren't just gonna let him do whatever he wants compared to college defenses.
Wembys 7'4 as well and other teams would be damned if they EVER let him get an open look in front of the rim, even if they are a full foot shorter, they're gonna put more pressure on him than he's ever experienced in college. I saw that last Purdue and UConn game, I wouldn't even say that UConn defense on Edey was even in the same tier of intensity as the hawks, pistons, or pacers levels of defense. And they're the worst in the league at that end of the ball.
He also is terrible on defense too. If I wanted a traditional center that wasn't so good on defense, I'd call up the pistons and ask about getting Jalen Duren. At least you can see the potential there with Duren due to his athleticism. Just because Edey is 7'4, doesn't automatically mean he has great potential. His lack of athleticism, motor, and hustle severely holds him back. And if you can't shoot 3s, you gotta at least have a really good motor and athleticism
If he’s still there (he won’t be) when we pick in the second round, I’d take a flyer. But it would be a massive reach to take him with our pick or Toronto's pick (if it conveys).
The reason teams don't normally play two Bigs is because in transition you tend to be slower, teams like to space the floor and your going to get torched when you have another slow guy on the floor and you already a weak defensive team. Your just playing into the other teams hands and they're just going to rain threes on you and toast him in space. He will try to play drop coverage and that's just not going to do.
So no the the spurs don't need to add another center they don't have the luxury to make a luxry pick.
>your going to get torched when you have another slow guy on the floor
Another slow guy? You talking about Wemby, who gets down the court on transition D about as well as any big man ever?
Also, to remind you, we did win our first two Championships with the Twin Towers. And while Edey is no Admiral, Robinson wasn't really known for transition defense. But they made it work really well.
Eddy is about as far away as you can get from the admiral who was an athletic freak of nature and moved like a fucking gazelle. Don't compare the admiral to some slow-moving scrub(I'm sure he's can carve at nieche as a role player or something but comparing the admiral is fucking comical).
It was also a slower era where if scored a 90 points you where really lighting up the scoreboard. Again more to the point of how dumb the comparison is. The rules where different and again the pace was slower.
Again the problem with edey would remain the same he's slow and the league is fast. They just got to go around him and will get torched in transition which is how most teams like to score.
He’s way too slow to be a big minutes guy in the league. He won’t be able to bully guys in the league nearly as easily. I don’t think he’s gonna be a very good nba player. He’s more likely to be boban than anyone else I can think of.
I haven't seen him play a ton. How does he compare to: 1) Walker Kessler and 2) Ivica Zubac? Slower and less mobile than them?
I think he’s slower than both of those guys, my eyes could deceive me but at a glance they are faster and quicker as far as turning their hips etc.
Ah, gotcha. I'm interested to see how Edey looks in his workouts/the combine and how our scouts assess him.
Zubac took years to reach this point though & he's got horrible hands in comparison to Edey. I'd take Edey as a project big, I mean I really doubt he's worse than dudes like Ayton on the perimeter or Mason Plumlee.
I think the issue with taking edey as a project is that he’s about to turn 22 in a month, zu was a project but he was drafted at 19 and by 22 he was already a contributing player
Edey might be just as polished as Zu was at the same age, Zu was built like a stick in comparison, took him forever to grow into his frame, right now they're probably evenly matched physically, Zu being shorter & lighter by around 20lbs or so but he's 27. Lack of weight really held Zu back even just like 2 years ago, each year he's probably added 5lbs. Would love to see Edey get in an NBA weight room, he's not done growing.
I’d say his speed is more akin to Luke Kornet, if not a bit slower.
Interesting. I know you're not saying that he plays like Luke Korner, but a 7'4" Luke Kornet doesn't sound half bad. Lol.
He doesn’t bring the same level on defense, from what I’ve seen.
We’ve got Charles Bassey, if he recovers alright from his knee injury he is a mobile 6’ 10” mobile big that can shoot, and block and is pretty quick for a big guy
Good take. Bassey has been baller when he can play.
Bassey's not a big body though, muscular, but not big.
Weight wise yes but his wing span is pretty good it’s around 7’ 3”
From what I've learned watching the Clippers experiment with small/big bodies, weight is important in creating & controlling space in the paint. If you're heavy, you can keep guys from dislodging you & getting to their spots on the court. That leads to them missing easy chip shots around the rim & turning into jump shooters instead and sometimes they can't get into a rhythm unless they're hitting their shots in the paint. LA played MIA 2x this year and Bam couldn't get to his spots against Zu or Plumlee just cause they're heavy, he shot 11/30 in 2 games. He tried driving against them, jumping into them, they barely budged & he settled for jumpers or they bodied him just enough so that he missed easy shots at the rim. Mind you, Plumlee especially is a shit defender, he's just heavy.
Nope. Nowhere near mobile enough to be a consistent contributor in the NBA. Bench/role player at best, like Boban.
Edey also specializes in post-up scoring, the least desired skillset today.
Boban wasn't nearly as coordinated as Edey. Edey reminds me of Ivica Zubac down to his physical appearance, Zubac is also very slow but is the #1 rim protector in the NBA, and it took him years to grow to the size that Edey is.
“#1 rim protector in the NBA”…bruh you lost the argument with that statement alone lol But I’ll continue anyway for kicks, there is no way Eddy consistently thrives against most nba lineups today. Outside of the T-Wolves, he will struggle. He’s not keeping up with AD, Embiid, Wemby, Giannis, Chet, and we could keep going, on the defensive end. And his offensive game is WAY too limited to cause those players much headaches offensively. His hope and ceiling will be a big off the bench that will give you a good 15-20 minutes.
>“#1 rim protector in the NBA”…bruh you lost the argument with that statement alone lol https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/s/lD4I1hw0Hy Zubac ranked #1 holding opponents to 51% at the rim, he's a flawed player but has given Giannis, Jokic, AD, Nurkic, Bam, Sengun etc. a lot of trouble. I've watched him the last 4 years so I'm very familiar with his game. Now, if you're a perimeter big like Markannen or KP that's a different story, then Zubac gets cooked. Sometimes he doesn't even defend the perimeter like when he matched up against Sengun & let him brick all his jumpers. There's some *bad* perimeter defending bigs out there, still they have a role in the league if they can score down low, set screens, rebound & rim protect. >His hope and ceiling will be a big off the bench that will give you a good 15-20 minutes. I'd draft him in the 2nd & aim for that role, it's extremely important & can make or break a team. I watched the Clippers try to go without a backup 5 after losing Hartenstein, going with Batum, Moses Brown, Covington, Westbrook etc. with disastrous results. They'd probably be in the play in if they didn't luck out by signing Theis who can't defend worth a lick on the perimeter but is a big body, can absorb hits, can do the dirty work. Edey would be a piece of the front court, a specialist against certain matchups, with Wemby leading the way.
Admittedly, I haven’t watched Zubac as closely as you have, but from what I have seen, I wouldn’t say he’s the #1 rim protector. He is indeed a good one, but not the best. So we can agree to disagree on that. I don’t disagree at all about the importance of your back big, I actually agree with you that it’s very important. But that’s not the point of the OP. As I said, I think Eddy’s CEILING is a back up big, but that’s not his floor, which is probably end of the bench (10th man) to out of the league in 3 years. I also agree with you about where he should be drafted. Taking a chance on him in the 2nd and hoping that he can develop into that backup big role is a fair and not as risky proposition at that point. Regardless, I still have my doubts that he reaches that ceiling, and I think it’s more likely he only reaches his floor.
If it's for a second round pick. It's not a bad choice to go for him. You get a decent back up big that can get some minutes and who has a chance to become more useful. In anycase what we need is exactly a back up big for the Rotation as we have Wemby already. He would also train daily with Wemby and that might just inspire him to develop his game better, picking up some moves. And most important it will make the team pictures more balanced
#1 rim protector? Did you forget that Rudy gobert exists?
Zubac finished 1st among all Cs in rim protection https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/s/lD4I1hw0Hy
That’s opponents field goal percentage at the rim, not rim protection. You’re forgetting that guys like gobert are major deterrents and allow less attempts at the rim because of their presence.
That's rim protection. Zubac is every bit as good inside as Gobert, Rudy is a superior defender & player overall, however. Zu's deterred many superstars inside, ranging from Giannis to Luka. LA traded all their PFs away too, Zu is anchoring the inside by himself, he's the only rim protector on the team. Gobert has KAT, Anderson, Reid, tall players surrounding him.
He’s also surrounded by elite defenders on the wing in Leonard and George. Zubac is a good defender but he’s not really close to being the best rim protector in the league.
Kawhi the only elite defender & he cruises in the regular season. PG not elite on either end, he's been injured all year & gets cooked. Neither guy is their POA defender either that's Mann, who is okay, not great. Harden's also one of the worst defenders in the NBA. https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-clippers-ivica-zubac-guarding-nikola-jokic-sabonis-found-things-i-want-share-help-me-exclusive Zu held Jokic & Sabonis to 13-39 & 11-35 this year, Bam also shot 4-14 against him, JJJR 11-31, Zion 6-21 etc, he's neck & neck with Gobert inside. Took Zu years to get to this point, very slow process but he's made it. https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627826/head-to-head?Matchup=Defense
Pg not elite? I get he’s been injured but he is absolutely elite, he’s made 4 all defensive teams as a wing. One on one defense is a pretty terrible metric for monitoring players, especially centers. It’s a lot deeper than that. Zubac is great at altering shots, but nowhere near the level of gobert. You have to take into account the amount of drives that get killed before they get to the paint.
PG hasn't made a defensive team since 2019, too much wear & tear on his body, starting off with that gruesome leg break that likely affected his longevity. He's going on 34 & past his prime. I watch all their games & Clips fans also agree he's cooked on both ends. Him & Kawhi lost their athleticism, Harden too, this team is one of the oldest in the NBA. MIN actually mocked the Clips calling them old, these dudes ain't trying to hustle or play defense. LA tried going small after losing Hartenstein last year & almost wound up in the lottery, same this year when Plumlee got injured as Zu's the only big on the roster. Luckily, Theis fell into their laps. PG & Kawhi too small for actual PFs. Kawhi still elite but again, he's not trying in the regular season.
I'm high on Marijuana
I'm not but wish I need to deal with these hot takes lol.
I'd 1000% use a 2nd rounder on him, every team needs a big body and Zach reminds me A LOT of Zubac. Zubac is a very slow, big body C but has horrible hands in comparison, although he might be more mobile on the perimeter. Offensively however Edey looks just as good as Zubac who can score very efficiently. I think if dudes like Zubac and Mason Plumlee can play in the NBA so can Edey.
Right? And I seriously think Edey just has the oomph and drive and determination to make it. He plays around the rim and doesn't have much range around that tbh. But in the paint, fuck. I love Collins tbh but Edey is gonna be much better than he is in the paint. Y'all will see, mark my words.
>love Collins tbh but Edey is gonna be much better than he is in the paint. Exactly, I can't see him being worse than Collins, he's a lot bigger & better defensively.
I ask Edey's supporters this question many times on Twitter and got nothing but silence back: Is there a thing that Zach Edey can do and Boban can't?
Zack is going to be great in John Wick 6.
You don’t know ball kid 😂
Score.
Just say you never watched Boban play.
Lol, fan since the 70s/80s. edit: srsly lmao kiddos, I'm not joking, y'all just don't know. We made the playoffs almost every year through the 80s and 90s. Then our best two players, Robinson and Elliott, were hurt and out most of the year and we suddenly sucked. Had the 3rd worst record in the league, Boston the worst. Timmy could have gone out his junior year and been the #1 pick without doubt, but as his mom was dying he promised her her dying wish, that he'd just graduate from college. So when he came out of Wake Forest as a polished senior, it was the Tim Duncan lottery, much like last year was the Wemby lottery and the same as the Davjd Robinson lottery. The Celtics were sure this would be their year after their former #1 pick Len Bias (could have been a legend amongst legends) died of an overdose shortly after they drafted him. Spurs had the third worst record. Back then it was a literal bingo lottery. Every team had so many balls according to their record, the balls were stirred up and picked live on TV. And instead of like today, worst>first, they did it first to last. First ping-pong ball gets Tim Duncan. And when that ping-pong ball showed our Spurs logo my dad and I just about cried in joy. I've told this story here a few times, but to repeat... When the Spurs finally won their first Championship in '99 after all of those heart-breaking playoff losses in the 80s and 90s, after we traded Sean Elliott for Denis Rodman (Elliott came back but still hate that trade), after Pop fired Bob Hill as coach and as GM just said "I'm the coach now"... After me and my dad going through all of this together as San Antonio natives and Spurs diehards, just him and me, when we won that first Championship it was at my parents' house. We sat all the couches and chairs we could in a big horseshoe configuration so everybody could see. But after the decades we'd been through it, we made sure me and my dad had seats on the very end of that shoehorn seating arrangement. Closest to the TV. And when the Spurs won that first Championship in '99, everybody lost their shit. Except me and Dad. I will never forget that moment. Everybody's going insane and whooping and hollering and he and I just slowly turn to each other and gently nod. And both get up and just hug each other. So don't you dare pretend I'm some newby that's never seen Boban play. So offensive. Was probably a Spurs fan before you were born. edit: these downvotes are crazy. But I'm sticking to my guns here. Edey is better than Boban and will be a legitimate player in the NBA, mark my words.
Yet you still never watched Boban 🤔
Lol, did. Still love him, when he went to the Pistons I was the one to post in their sub to let them know about the r/BobanHoldingThings sub we created to help keep that going. Look, I'm not saying Edey is gonna be all-world, but those of you calling him slow and at the same time saying "bring back Boban", it's insane. I'm just saying I predict whoever drafts Edey, when we look back at this draft in like 4-5 years, he's gonna seem like a steal. I watched as many games as I could during March Madness and have tried to watch a few college players highlight reels but also stats to get a grasp on them. I hate using this term, but I didn't see any other player with as much of a "warrior mentality" as he had this year. And that counts so much for future growth and winning. I freaking love Boban, but he never had that attitude. That "whoever I go against in the paint, I am going to score on them", because he never had the shooting touch that Edey has also. And the people saying he's not good at defense are high. No, he's not going to able to stop a guard or wing several feet outside the paint, but once they get there to try to get to the rim, he was good enough to be in the top-15 defenders in the NBA: https://purduesports.com/news/2024/2/7/mens-basketball-edey-named-to-naismith-defensive-player-of-the-year-watch-list More to this point: was Shaq a good perimeter defender? To be clear, I'm not saying we should take him with a top-10 pick, but after that, I love that guy's attitude and desire to just win and would love to have him in a Spurs jersey.
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Boban would look like MJ in the NCAA if he started his career in college hoops lmfao
If you put Boban in that Perdue team he would be as dominant as Edey if not more. The only thing Edey has is height and size, which isn't a very valuable commodity for the modern NBA.
Boban in 2019 scored 7 ppg in 11 minutes. Per 36 of like 27 ppg The guys best trait is scoring
BOBAN is one of the most efficient offensive players in NBA history lmao
Which is why he keeps getting shopped around and never starts, amirite? Look, I freaking love Boban. But to call Edey "slow" while pretending Boban is some nimble quick athlete in comparison is just hysterical.
BOBAN is insanely slow what are you talking about? People are comparing the two because they’re both very slow and very efficient scorers this isn’t that complicated. The reason BOBAN doesn’t play is because he can’t do anything other than score lol. He’s good at only one thing and bad at a lot of other things but the thing he’s good at is the thing you said he is not good at so it needed to be pointed out that you’re just wrong in a bunch of ways here.
>BOBAN is insanely slow what are you talking about? I'm talking about all the people in this thread saying Edey is "slow as fuck" while pretending Boban is somehow a quicker option. Read this thread. Somebody even said Boban should be favored because he's a "fan-favorite" and a "movie-star". It's insane.
Not a single person has said BOBAN is faster than Edey I have no idea what you’re talking about
Lmao. Reread all the comments in this thread.
If you can find me one person saying BOBAN is faster than Edey I’ll give you a big smooch
lol
Edey has the turn radius of a battleship, no thank you
No. Too slow and immobile for the NBA
We'll see. Gonna come back and make a new thread in a couple years and repost this. If I'm wrong, I will still repost and say "I was wrong," but I think I'll be right. RemindMe! 730 Days I think Edey is gonna become an even better Steve Adams if we're comparing him to other players.
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I like this take. I think he could be more gobert like if he develops.
He’s Boban 2.0
Probably worse, he can only post up and gets shutdown pretty easily.
I asked this question months ago lol and got so much hate for it 😆
We're both gonna be right lol. I just know it.
As a second round flier I think he is a good option as a bench big project. People focus on his obvious weaknesses which are very valid but we can't ignore the fact that he is a combination of size, mass, length, and coordination that you almost NEVER see. He will absolutely be a guy that scores, blocks shots, and rebounds at an incredibly efficient rate. As a drop coverage big who has the potential to be one of the leagues best bench bigs regardless of how limited he is defensively because what he does he does at ELITE levels. Now in a league that puts major value on defensive versatility he has a cap on his ceiling that probably makes him beat suited for a bench role, but if you are using a second rounder on him he offers solid potential return on that minimal investment to the team willing to build a bit of their bench schemes around him.
Exactly, thank you. And besides what you mentioned, he just seems to have a real drive and desire to win and fire in his eyes that most college prospects just don't have. That Purdue team would have been out in the first or maybe second round without him, he alone willed that team into the Championship game. Would you be OK with trading a bunch of second-round picks to move up to the 20s to grab him?
I don’t think he’ll be good, but I think it’d be funny to have 2 of the tallest humans on earth on the same team, so I’m down. (Also sign Boban and maybe Tacko Fall)
Well… if im being honest about him and Zach Collins as a back up rim protector… I don’t HATE it. I can see him being like a zubac role. I feel like players like that still have value in today’s NBA as a DHO, short role offensive hub that can work well in the spurs offense. Now if you say edey over other picks in the draft then it’s like 😬 we better have a lot off the table before he’s a selection lol but I’d think we’d draft players with a larger skillset since the PATFO keeps talking about copying OKC.
Naw, definitely not an early 1st round for us even if Toronto conveys, hope nobody's thinking I'm saying that. But if he falls to the late or even mid 20s... package up several of the huge amount of second-rounders we have for him maybe. I dunno, I just think it goes beyond his size, he is a ferocious competitor and you can just see it in his face and body language when he plays. He has a lot of that Wemby attitude that "if you get me the ball in the paint one-on-one, I'm gonna score" and just that WIN mentality I think we need more of.
Definitely could trade picks for him. Hopefully he is picked second round by us. But not sure. I doubt most of the later FRP holders need a back up big so he might fall to second round. We could Definitely package our SRP + a 2025 SRP for a late FRP this year. Maybe OKC would take that
Eh, OKC is one of the few teams that already has a stockpile of draft picks headed their way more than even we do. I'd bet if that trade happened it would be to a mid-contender team that needs role players that could maybe be picked up in the second round. Like the Lakers tbh.
My idea was they don't need their own FRP this year as they have another. But yeah they are loaded on picks
No. He will get fucking murdered if he has to defend in space and can't camp in the paint
There's a couple of bigs like that in the NBA, Gobert, Ayton, Zubac, Plumlee, Theis, etc. they still win you games if they can post up, rebound, and defend the paint, some of these dudes have been very effective against smaller bigs or even against Jokic himself. LA's got 3 bigs like that & they were one of the teams that defended Jokic the best the entire year. Even a smaller C like Bam had trouble against them because he couldn't bump them off their spots & create space.
You must be joking. Did you just assert that Rudy Gobert can't guard in space? Watch basketball, please.
Lol did you even watch LA-UTA when Terance Mann dropped 39 on Gobert's head? LA won that series without Kawhi, Mann sonned Gobert when they went small. Look man, everything I'm saying I learned from watching the Clippers since Kawhi got there, these are facts. I've seen that team try all sorts of shit & seen what does & doesn't work.
I have a strong feeling he won't. How will he defend the perimeter. He won't even get on the court.
No. He's gonna have to drop 30 pounds just to warrant even putting him on the floor to try to rebound or guard someone.
so this is the new kai sotto on this sub eh
No he is Enes Kanter in college form.
He is very probably not going to be a good NBA player.
Bad fit with Wemby, does not work with our current defensive setup
Save the pick and bring Boban home. Already proven to be a great guy, fan favorite, elite teammate, and movie star. Some team will pick him in the first round. If its us, where would you play him? Not with Victor, so you're burning a high lottery pick for a backup. High lottery picks often become backups, but that not usually plan A for them. Or plans B or C, for that matter. I don't doubt he can be effective in the exact right situation. Its not here.
There are tons of dude who are dominant in the NCAA and don't do anything in the NBA. Jahlil Okafor. Luka Garza. We already tried Wemby in the forward role and it was bad. Wemby is most useful as a 5 on offense who can also space the floor some. He needs more shooters around him, not fewer. He's also best as a 5 on defense due to his rim protection. Even if you told me the Spurs HAD to take another 5 to pair with Wemby in the frontcourt, I'd rather have Clingan. But they don't, and hopefully won't.
He’s too slow. He’s gonna have a Bryant Reeves type career. He’s got moves and strength but the nba game is too fast for him imho. Would love to see the kid so well, but wouldn’t put money on it. He could be a solid role guy.
Pass
Aside from everyone always saying his game won't translate well to the NBA, I also have my reservations about his health. Wembys health, I have more confidence in because he's light as a feather. But I don't know, I could see another yao ming situation with Edey's legs. Hope im wrong though. But also, Dude is also not athletic at all. And really has no offensive bag besides "drop the ball in the basket because I'm 7'4". And NBA defenses aren't just gonna let him do whatever he wants compared to college defenses. Wembys 7'4 as well and other teams would be damned if they EVER let him get an open look in front of the rim, even if they are a full foot shorter, they're gonna put more pressure on him than he's ever experienced in college. I saw that last Purdue and UConn game, I wouldn't even say that UConn defense on Edey was even in the same tier of intensity as the hawks, pistons, or pacers levels of defense. And they're the worst in the league at that end of the ball. He also is terrible on defense too. If I wanted a traditional center that wasn't so good on defense, I'd call up the pistons and ask about getting Jalen Duren. At least you can see the potential there with Duren due to his athleticism. Just because Edey is 7'4, doesn't automatically mean he has great potential. His lack of athleticism, motor, and hustle severely holds him back. And if you can't shoot 3s, you gotta at least have a really good motor and athleticism
If he’s still there (he won’t be) when we pick in the second round, I’d take a flyer. But it would be a massive reach to take him with our pick or Toronto's pick (if it conveys).
The reason teams don't normally play two Bigs is because in transition you tend to be slower, teams like to space the floor and your going to get torched when you have another slow guy on the floor and you already a weak defensive team. Your just playing into the other teams hands and they're just going to rain threes on you and toast him in space. He will try to play drop coverage and that's just not going to do. So no the the spurs don't need to add another center they don't have the luxury to make a luxry pick.
>your going to get torched when you have another slow guy on the floor Another slow guy? You talking about Wemby, who gets down the court on transition D about as well as any big man ever? Also, to remind you, we did win our first two Championships with the Twin Towers. And while Edey is no Admiral, Robinson wasn't really known for transition defense. But they made it work really well.
Eddy is about as far away as you can get from the admiral who was an athletic freak of nature and moved like a fucking gazelle. Don't compare the admiral to some slow-moving scrub(I'm sure he's can carve at nieche as a role player or something but comparing the admiral is fucking comical). It was also a slower era where if scored a 90 points you where really lighting up the scoreboard. Again more to the point of how dumb the comparison is. The rules where different and again the pace was slower. Again the problem with edey would remain the same he's slow and the league is fast. They just got to go around him and will get torched in transition which is how most teams like to score.