NBA Insider: Breaking Down How Former Purdue Star Carsen Edwards Fits With Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics recently made a trade that sent Kris Dunn and former Purdue star Carsen Edwards to the Grizzlies and sent Juancho Hernangomez to the Celtics.
The full announcement of the trade can be read here. Edwards could use a fresh start after seeing limited playing time during his first two years in the NBA. Here's our insider's look on how this move might work out:
How does Carsen Edwards fit on the Grizzlies?
In college, Edwards was the focal point of the Purdue offense, and one of the best player in the nation.
As a senior, the 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 24.3 points per game and had an epic run through the NCAA Tournament, leading the Boilermakers to the Elite Eight.
CARSON EDWARDS!! Silky! THIS IS MARCH !! #MarchMadneess pic.twitter.com/TuwkeM4eMl
— LA HOUZ (MATT) (@DemBums92) March 31, 2019
However, like with many college stars, his role was being relegated to a bench player in the NBA during his first two seasons in Boston.
As a rookie, he played in 37 games and played just under 10 minutes per game. As a sophomore, he played in 31 games and averaged playing just under 9 minutes per game.
Carson Edwards yams it on James Harden😷 pic.twitter.com/85zSeq4PkN
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) July 29, 2020
In 68 career NBA regular season games, he has averaged 3.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and shot 37.2% from the field.
Clearly, that's not the kind of role he was used to while playing at Purdue.
During his two years with the Celtics, he also got a chance to play in the G-League with the Maine Celtics.
While playing in the minor leagues, he averaged 22.4 points in 13 games during the 2019-20 season, showing flashes of that scoring machine he was at Purdue. Those numbers look a lot more like his college numbers.
.@Cboogie_3 had himself a day at #GLeagueShowcase 💪
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 19, 2019
23 PTS | 8 REB | 4 AST | 4 STL pic.twitter.com/eviPHGlJWt
Breaking down the Memphis guards
At the end of the day, his new team has a franchise point guard in Ja Morant, who was the 2020 NBA Rookie of The Year after being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Edwards, who was taken No. 33 in that same draft, will never be able to have the role he had at Purdue in Memphis and long as Morant is there.
That being said, there is still opportunity for him to shine, but he needs to get more efficient from the field and three-point range.
In the G-Leauge, he shot less than 28% from three and just over 43% from the field. In the NBA so far he has shot 37.2% from the field and just over 30% from three-point range. Those kind of numbers will not keep him in the NBA.
As a high usage player in college, he will have to adjust to being a player who will have to play well in spirts.
Last season, Tyus Jones was the backup point guard in Memphis, and he had a solid season averaging 6.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
He also played 17.5 minutes per game.
The Grizzlies are a young team, and if Edwards can prove that he can be efficient, he could end up being Morant's backup point guard.
The job is his to win.
Right now, it does not appear as if Edwards will play a major role in Memphis, but this is the same team that took former college superstars Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks and molded them into solid role players in the NBA.
Maybe Edwards is next.
Ben Stinar covers the NBA for Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and is the senior writer for AllPacers.com. He is a Hilltop30 Scholarship Fund recipient.