2024 NBA Draft: Examining the Memphis Grizzlies' Gamble on Zach Edey

Following the first day of the 2024 NBA Draft, there were a handful of surprises, one being Memphis selecting Zach Edey in the No. 9 slot. Let's delve into how he might fit with the Grizzlies.

Oct 2, 2023; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman answers questions from media members during media day at FedEx Forum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

After what was a tumultous regular season for the Memphis Grizzlies, it seems they had their eyes set on the type of player they sought after in Wednesday night's draft. With heavy-hitting injuries to nearly its entire starting core, a 27-55 season saw Memphis go from a second-seeded team in the West the year prior to bottom-three in the conference.

With sights set on a title-contending campaign next year, Zach Kleiman and the Grizzlies selected Zach Edey in the No. 9 slot of the draft on Wednesday evening, much higher than where the 7-foot-5 center was projected to land. And while some people fell ill at the pick, it's relatively feasible to see why Memphis chose this route despite many other talented prospects left on the board.

After obliterating discourse of him being a fringe NBA player a year ago due to his polarizing play style, Edey was still consistenly being mocked in the back end of the first round despite averaging 25.2 points, 12.2 boards and 2.2 blocks all while shooting 71.1% from the field on 14 shots a night this past season.

So when Memphis took him at No. 9, there was some surprise behind it -- but it does make sense for the Grizzlies in a couple aspects despite some impending drawbacks.

Firstly, this frees up offensive responsibility for Jaren Jackson Jr. As a 6-foot-10 forward who has proven himself as one of the league's best defenders when healthy, he's also one of Memphis' best scorers, and can sink the three at a relatively high clip. Being able to work on the opposite side of Edey and continue to hit outside shots at his rate would be immense for their offense.

A whopping 52.2% of Jackson's points come inside the paint, so that will be a point of concern for Edey as a traffic cone to learn how to provide another adept paint-scoring big man adequate spacing. But on the flip side, the congestion that both Edey and Jackson Jr. will create on the interior will be suffocating for teams who thrive at attacking the rim. That pairing as a rim-dettering tandem could be diminishing for any team in the league.

Another point of emphasis will be Edey will need to be able to work as the roll man much better than at Purdue, adjusting to Ja Morant's pace and matching his processing to optimize their connection. A large percentage of Edey's points will likely be derived from Morant's playmaking, so establishing a strong sense of his lead guard's approach and tendencies is impactful in his progression. Pending his ability to mesh well in that role, the Morant-Edey connection could create turmoil for defenses anticipating the lob before being pulverized by a Morant tomahawk. Or a simple layup, either or.

Suffice to say, it's unfair to say this is the pick that garnered the least value of the draft until we see the on-court product. Edey and Memphis could likely be an intelligent pairing in the long run despite his unmodernized design.

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