Given the situation the Celtics are financially, with Jaylen Brown’s supermax contract set to begin, Jayson Tatum up next for a supermax deal and both Jrue Holiday and Derrick White up next for contract extensions, the need for Brad Stevens to make good on upcoming draft picks is obvious. With the 30th pick in this year’s draft, there is one player the team is certainly eyeing: 7-foot-4 Purdue star Zach Edey.
But, when it comes to draft stock, Edey is not the type who gets the innards of the NBA scouting world churning—he is a traditional in-the-paint big man, does not shoot 3s, and does not have the athleticism to recover to defend the perimeter.
Edey has been a dominant force for the Boilermakers this season, averaging 25.0 points and 12.2 rebounds, shooting 62.9% from the field. He has been even better in the tournament, averaging 30.0 points and 16.3 rebounds, including a 40-point showing in the Elite Eight against Tennessee.
But, when it comes to draft stock, Edey is not the type who gets the inThere’s not a lot of teams that could plug Zach Edey into their rotation and just be like, ‘OK, this works, this makes sense,” one Eastern Conference GM told Heavy Sports. “That’s the tough thing about him in this draft. It is big upside draft, but he is kind of a finished product. If you’re Boston, you’re OK with that. They have had their eye on him all season.”
