Ideally you trade down to 15-18 and grab him there. When I said better than Jabrari in certain aspects….meant size, bulk, rebounding, not getting pushed around. I also believe Zach is stronger from the mental aspect of the game. Jabrari is not the guy you want on the free throw line with the game in the balance.
So you saw 11pts and 8 rebs in 28 games and knew he would be this? If you say yes, you're lying. I watch a lot of college hoops and I thought he had Dream like footwork, but I never thought he would be this, nobody did. He shot under 70% ft and didn't shoot 3s in college, not to mention his injury history. People want guys to be finished products, even after playing several years like Edey, but we see guys like Brunson who is just coming into his own last year.
He’s the best college prospect i saw by far ya. It was clear he was going to be at absolute worst a 7-8 time allstar and was easily the number 1 pick in that draft. I do not watch college basketball, it’s unwatchable garbage so i only watch when there’s someone special, and he was
Adams is what 33 ish and limited as is Landale. To me, i'd rather pair Sengun with Edey vs Smith. I like Smith, but he's kinda stiff and average at most things.
Zach Edey reminds me of year two Yao Ming. If we can get a potential all-pro center with a mid first rounder, you do it.
I think i watched him play twice? But ya he looked insane. The way he moved and his touch was incredible
I think someone takes him in the first round so IF he works out, the team will have an extra year of control and RFA is easier manage .... What I'd be looking at with the 2nd round pick is one of the 5-6 guards / wings who shoot 40% or better from 3 that are projected around 44 - take the best one available.
It seems like no brainer at pick 9. Unfortunately, Edey is supposed to go where we took Sengun (18) in the draft. Question is if we re-did that draft and had the 9th pick would we have not taken Sengun because he wasn’t supposed to go until 18-20?
Smith is a shooter and gives Sengun and the rest space to operate. Edey is a more limited version of Sengun, while being bigger, slower and longer. Landale is only 28 and is in his prime.
Edey is going to need mentorship coming into the league just like any other Rookie. If you keep Adams (1 year rental), Landale (Probably another 1 year rental) to work with him as well as the coaching staff. Bringing him up slowly would be good for both him and the team. You could make the same argument for any of the other bigs in this draft. Let them play some GLeague games and also split time in HTown. If we need them throw them in the court.
That is my main point on Edey We have Adams and Landale right now There is no hurry to bring him up from the GLeague or start right away Definitely could use the mentorship and learn to be a pro Rocket River
Just Curious. A few questions: What is the problem that Zach Edey would solve for the Rockets? Why do you think that teams don't play a traditional big man anymore? If Zach Edey was on defense, what do you think opposing offenses will do to attack him? Are you advocating playing Sengun and Edey together? Or are you thinking that Edey is Sengun's backup?
I like Edey as a player and don't think he's a stiff. He's clearly got more fluid movement than Boban, which is a very common comparison people throw around. I think the taller Zubac comp is pretty on point. The issue is that even solid centers like him can be played right off the court in today's league if they can't anchor a defense. Just look at someone like Jonas Valanciunas, who is a per minute monster but has only cracked 30mpg once in his career. He's got above average mobility for a guy his size, a great low post game, decent face up game, and is a threat to shoot the midrange and beyond. But he's just slow enough to be a liability which has limited his ceiling throughout his career. I don't think Edey's post game translates to the NBA. He doesn't have advanced footwork, handles, or flashed much range. Being bigger and taller than everyone isn't going to cut it. But he sets great screens and has decent ability as a roll man so he'll still have a role in a team's offense. If he can avoid getting targeted on switches, he'll have a decent career IMO.
Earlier I was advocating playing them together I felt Sengun was undersized . . .and didn't like wearing him down on bigger folx but Folx pointed out Sengun has made his 7 footer status But I like him as a back up - definitely a change of pace guy Rocket River
You hit on the exact reason why you don't see the traditional centers like you did in the past. It's the ability to switch on to perimeter players. If you can't do that, then as you mentioned, the big man will get played off of the court. It's not the size, it's the foot speed. Teams love big guys with foot speed but it's very difficult to play slow footed bigs in today's NBA. Gobert is way more athletic than folks give him credit for. He can defend on the perimeter and on switches he can stay with a perimeter player when they drive. Likewise, he can close out on 3 pt shooters. Bigs have to be able to do that now days or your going to give up wide open 3s or easy drives to the basket. Sure, if you've got that kind of length, you can drop off an extra step or two because your size allows you to easily make up for it but you have to have be able to close that distance very quickly. Bigs lik Gobert are an advantage but he is way more mobile than Edey. If Edey had that kind of mobility, then he'd be the 1st overall pick. The difference in mobility and footspeed is the reason that Clingan is rated so much higher than Edey. Here's a video showing Gobert's mobility: Edey doesn't seem to have the foot speed, lateral movement or quickness to guard on the perimeter. Teams would put him in PnR every possession. Can he avoid it? It's extremely difficult. A similar example ( though for different reasons ) is Steph Curry. In the playoffs vs the Rockets, Curry was on the floor with 4 very good defenders most all of the time. The Rockets were focused on hunting a Harden-Curry matchup. If they didn't get it on the first pick, they simply ran another. Harden ended up with the biggest statistical matchup advantage ever recorded up to that time and Curry ended up switching to Harden more times than then next 5 most frequent Warrior matchups combined. That Harden-Curry matchup was the very last thing that GS wanted but they couldn't stop it from happening. That just demonstrates that in today's NBA the offense can dictate the matchups. Here's a couple of good articles discussing how Houston was forcing matchups with Curry. https://abc7news.com/sports/how-james-harden-and-the-rockets-keep-hunting-steph-curry/3495464/ https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26056184/how-james-harden-relentlessly-attacks-steph-curry Teams aren't going to let Edey sit in the paint. They are going to force him to guard on the perimeter to negate his advantage inside and to take advantage of his issues on the perimeter.. If you believe that Edey has that kind of foot speed, then he can stay on the floor. From watching Edey, I don't see any indication that he has that type of foot speed. As for playing along side Sengun, I don't see it for multiple reasons. One of the two is going to have go out and guard opposing bigs behind the arc (bigs who can shoot 3s aren't uncommon now days). . The other will get put in PnR. It's the same issue, just doubled in volume. Offensiviely, both Sengun and Edey are most effective in the paint so how would that work ? If Sengun is posting, then what does Edey do? Go stand behind the arc? That's an invitation to double team Sengun. We already have the issue of opposing big men sitting in the paint and killing our offense. So, now we're going to allow 2 opposing bigs to set in the paint? Good luck driving the ball to the basket. I get the idea of "Let's bring in Edey to guard a guy like Valanciunas", but in reality, the opposition isn't going to allow that. They're going to force him to guard a smaller player where he's at a huge disadvantage.
Not to say that Jonas Valanciunas is going to retire rather sooner than later and now you are stuck with Edey.
That's why I compared him to Zubac. Zubac might be quicker, but they're roughly in the same ballpark. Zubac isn't blazing around the court or a very switchable defender, nor is he anchoring the Clippers' defense in the middle, but he does just enough things well to stay on the floor and be a starter for the past five seasons. Of course there are going to be some matchups where he just can't hang at all, but I don't see teams hunting him every possession. Now if Edey can't meet even that level of defense, then yeah his career prospects aren't very good. His skill level isn't that high, no one's confusing him for a Gasol brother. Even in a good scenario he's going to be a 25mpg, matchup limited center.
I'd say that Zubac is quicker and more athletic than Edey. Regardless, I wouldn't spend a first round pick on Zubac either. He wouldn't really move the needle for the Rockets.
