Zach Edey reveals Grizzlies were only team that showed real interest in him ahead of 2024 draft

Zach Edey reveals Grizzlies were only team that showed real interest in him ahead of 2024 draft

Former Purdue big Zach Edey was the best player in college basketball each of the last two seasons, winning back-to-back Naismith Awards while being named AP’s Player of the Year twice.

Though Edey, standing at 7-foot-4, was one of the most polarizing prospects heading into the 2024 NBA Draft. He was No. 17 on Rookie Scale’s consensus big board and No. 16 on the NBA Mock Draft Database consensus board, suggesting he ranked just outside the lottery on most people’s big boards.

Even though he didn’t work out with the team, the Memphis Grizzlies took Edey No. 9 overall. The 22-year-old recently revealed to Athlon Sports that they were the only team very open about taking him, describing the pre-draft process as “weird.”

“They were the only team that was really vocal about their interest in me,” Edey said about Memphis. “They’ve been in touch with me for a while. But it was weird with how the whole thing went.”

Edey has been one of the NBA’s top rookies to begin the new campaign. He’s averaging 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game, shooting 62.2 percent from the floor and 65.5 percent from the free-throw line through 12 games, including nine starts.

I can’t say I was high on Edey as a prospect, because I wasn’t. I’m still worried about him being perpetually in foul trouble because the amount of ground he’ll have to cover with his foot speed (or lack thereof), because then he’ll get out of position and handsy. So far, he’s averaging 3.3 fouls per game, translating to 5.8 fouls per 40 minutes and 5.6 fouls per 75 possessions.

As time goes on, the 7-foot-4 big must work on that, though I think he’s provided impactful alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama through the early portion of the season. I also think he’s a very intriguing fit as a two-man partner with Ja Morant–that’s a deadly combo. Edey’s barely scratched the surface and has plenty of room to grow, but I do think it’s interesting how most of the league didn’t want to take a flier on him … a great motivating factor.

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