Thunder Draft Report: Purdue's Zach Edey

The Oklahoma City Thunder could use some size in their front court, but Zach Edey is likely not the answer.

Mar 24, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) looks on during the / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Despite battling for a top spot in the Western Conference, the OKC Thunder still have an absorbent amount of picks, including a projected lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Let’s take a look at Purdue big man Zach Edey and how he would fit in the Thunder system. 

Draft Profile 

• Height: 7'3
• Weight: 306
• Wingspan: 7'11
• Age: 22
• School: Purdue

Quick Scouting Report

Edey is a traditional big man who can dominate scoring inside and the glass but lacks the mobility required in the modern NBA and can not space the floor.

Strengths and Weakness

Strengths

There is no keeping Edey off the glass as he averages over 12 rebounds per game thanks to his ability to box out, judge the ball off the cylinder and high point the basketball with his wingspan.

For a big man his size he has plus-hands to allow him to capitalize in the pick-and-roll as well as get easy dump-off feeds in the dunker spot. His frame and catch radius makes it hard to throw a bad pass to Edey and even harder to stripe the Boilermaker without fouling him.

He will not get hacked off the floor. If he can overcome his projected defensive woes in the NBA, shooting 70 percent at the charity stripe will allow him to close games as needed at the next-level without the threat of the opposition hacking him on the offensive end.

Edey possesses great touch and foot around in the paint that eliminates defenders with his great body positioning to shield defenders and finish around the rim shooting a jaw-dropping 75 percent at the cup.

A solid screener whose best trait is oftentimes just getting in the way of the opposition but can also lay hard screens understanding angles that benefit his guard and path to the rim.

He understands how to stay vertical at the rim, despite anchoring a defense at his size he rarely gets into foul trouble.

Weaknesses

Aside from his ability to project the rim, Edey is a negative defender and only projects to get worse at the next level. Lacking the athletic ability and foot speed to keep up with shifty guards in a pick-and-roll-heavy NBA with prolific perimeter scorers, it is tough to imagine Edey being playable defensively in the NBA on most nights. While Edey would find success as a drop-coverage big, that will be the extent of his defensive prowess. The lack of mobility will limit the role Edey can play at the NBA level.

The lumbering big man will not be able to play in transition or high-tempo affairs. He does not run the floor hard in transition and only has ten shot attempts in that setting this season.

His funky slow shot doesn't encourage anyone that he will be able to space the floor at the next level. Along with his reluctance to shoot the ball, he can hurt spacing at times.

The Purdue big man will likely be reduced to a speciality role in the NBA which makes his draft value tough to judge if that is all you are banking on at the next level.

Availability

• Draft Digest: 35
• Ringer Guide: 18
• ESPN Mock: 13
• The Athletic: 30
• Bleacher Report: 42
• CBS: 33
• Draft Net: 36
• Tankathon: 37

Thunder Fit

Future Role 

It is tough to see Edey being a fit for the Thunder system. His lack of switch-ability defensively, little-to-no playmaking, poor floor spacing and inability to play in transition has to raise some concerns for Oklahoma City specifically.

Though, as a change-of-pace big used in a limited capacity, it is oftentimes better to have that tool in the toolbox than not. He would certainly help on the glass and could be a dynamic pick-and-roll partner for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who will either get blitzed leaving Edey alone at the basket, or get to play one-on-one in a favorable matchup.

Rotation Fit 

The Oklahoma City Thunder would likely use Edey as a matchup-dependent big, sometimes racking up DNP-CDs for a week straight before needing to play heavy minutes vs a bigger squad.

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