The Memphis Grizzlies drafted Purdue center Zach Edey with the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, adding a full-fledged center to their core. Grizzlies star Ja Morant was at Streets Ministries, helping pack 60,000 meals with other members of the Grizzlies, and opened up on his workouts with Edey over the summer, backing the rookie to easily win Rookie of the Year.
“Definitely Rookie of the Year, I think easy too. I won’t say (he) was a surprise for me, seeing how he dominated college.”
“Coming into the workout, he came in and was ready to work. My summer workouts, I pretty much call it boot camp, so for him to come in and say he wanna work out with me and get through it throughout the whole week, it was big time. It made me excited to have him on the team.”
“His skillset is much better. He’s 7’4″ but his touch, he was shooting the ball very well. Rookie of the Year is pretty much all I can say.”
Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks on 63.4% from the field in his final season with the Purdue Boilermakers, winning back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year awards for the 22-23 and 23-24 seasons.
The 2024-25 Rookie of the Year race is considered to be wide-open with no single prospect considered to be head and shoulders above the rest. Many oddsmakers have Edey as the favorite given the opportunity he will get on a contending Grizzlies team, as compared to higher picks in losing situations.
Edey also has four years of college experience under his belt, with veteran college players usually managing to find better streaks of consistency over their rookie season. He might be the safest pick for ROTY given he’s the most proven quantity atop the Draft.
How Will Zach Edey Fit On The Grizzlies?
Scouts have struggled to pin-point Zach Edey’s NBA ceiling, with some believing he’s too slow-footed to succeed in the NBA’s switch-heavy play style while others believe he can be an instantly transformative inside presence who could make a fierce frontcourt alongside the more mobile Jackson.
Edey and Jackson are an even better frontcourt fit given Edey’s primary strength in the NBA will be rebounding, something Jackson has struggled with as a center over his last few seasons. JJJ averaged xxx rebounds last season as the Grizzlies’ center, necessitating a full-time rebounder to be on the court alongside him.
Morant touched upon Edey’s shooting touch, something he will need to rely on while playing for the Grizzlies as he’ll be expected to clear out the lane for Morant’s drives to the rim on occasions. If he doesn’t have a reliable jumper, it’ll give defenses more confidence in closing the paint on Morant to force him to dish it to Edey, who’ll have to convert those opportunities.
His defensive potential is staggering, especially in the West where all top teams have robust center options on their roster. If Edey can keep up with the pace of the NBA, he will be a very impactful rookie defender along the likes of what we saw Walker Kessler do in 2022-23 and what Dereck Lively II did last season.
This promises to be a great fit, provided Edey can translate his skills from the NCAA level where he had a massive size advantage to the NBA, where he still is taller than most but will face faster and stronger players regularly.
