Zach Edey's legendary collegiate career with Purdue culminated with a trip to the national championship game. The 7-foot-4 center became the rare college player to be named the National College Player of the Year twice, and he is now looked at as one of the best college players of the 21st century because of it.
Oftentimes, such a historically dominant collegiate player would be drafted at or near the top of the NBA Draft, but that might not be the case for Edey. As a prospect, Edey is polarizing, and scouts are all over the board on where he should be drafted. On one hand, his collegiate production is better than almost any prospect we have seen in recent memory, and he has the size that you can't teach. On the other hand, many think Edey's skillset doesn't fit the modern game.
He has the potential to be a dominant interior force, but concerns about his mobility, ability to defend in space, and lack of a jumper make some fear that he will become a draft bust. This makes his draft range incredibly wide, as there could easily be a lottery team that wants to take the leap of faith and select the big man, while it is also completely possible that the Purdue product falls out of the first round.
Edey's throwback skillset means that he won't be a great fit for every team, and he will need to be drafted to the right place to truly have the chance to thrive at the next level. There are NBA teams that make sense for the center, though, and you can check out the gallery here to see which teams we think are the best 2024 NBA Draft destinations for Zach Edey.
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are desperate for bigs, so why not take one of the biggest prospects in recent memory? The Wizards haven't had great center depth for years, but they got extremely thin at the position when they traded Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks. Gafford is now starting on a Dallas Mavericks team that is in the NBA Finals, while Washington is slated to have a center rotation of Marvin Bagley and Richaun Holmes.
Although Bagley did show flashes after being traded to the Wizards, he is largely considered one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory, and a winning team likely wouldn't rely on either Bagley or Holmes to play heavy minutes.
Washington has the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and that is likely way too early to select Zach Edey. The team has another first-round pick, though, and if Edey falls to pick 26, then the Wizards will have to consider taking him. For depth reasons alone, Edey could be a good value selection for Washington, but he provides the kind of upside that is rare for such a late pick, especially for one who will be 22 on draft day.
It may be more likely that Edey fills a niche than it is he becomes a superstar in the NBA, but he has a proven track record of putting up big numbers. Edey averaged 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game during his senior season in college, and it is possible that his skillset will translate better to the professional game than anyone thinks it will.
Size, strength, and interior play are coveted traits at the NBA level, and Edey will be able to hold up better against veterans from day one than almost any of his rookie peers. His physical presence could allow him to become an NBA star.
Los Angeles Lakers
Zach Edey has already been rumored as a draft target for the Los Angeles Lakers, and ClutchPoints' very own Brett Siegel already mocked him to Los Angeles. The Lakers need to do everything that they can to ensure that LeBron James doesn't walk in free agency. That may include drafting his son, Bronny James, but it could also mean the Lakers should consider drafting an experienced collegiate player with proven production.
James has shown an affinity for those types of prospects before, and drafting Edey over a developmental project could help persuade James to stick around. The former number one overall pick will be 40-years-old next year, so the Lakers are definitely in win-now mode.
Drafting a play-now player makes sense from that perspective, especially considering the team got almost no production from last year's first round pick, Jalen Hood-Schifino. The rookie only got 109 minutes of court time and only scored 34 total points in his first season.
Additionally, Anthony Davis is coming off of his healthiest season since 2017-18. Ensuring the star big man will be healthy enough to help the team on the court is vital. Even though he thrived at the center position this past season, Davis has verbalized in the past that he prefers to play power forward.
By drafting Edey, the Lakers would be able to play Davis more minutes at the power forward position, and they would also have an alternative for a player who can take some of the beating down low.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are up 3-0 against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. No team in any postseason series has ever erased that deficit, so it is safe to assume that Boston will likely be crowned as champions this year. The team has the last pick in the first round, and with an already incredibly stacked roster, it could make sense to take a flyer on Zach Edey.
The gamble on an ultra-tall player didn't work for Boston last time they tried it, as the team picked up 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall as an undrafted free agent in 2019. Fall isn't nearly the player that Edey is, though.
Kristaps Porzingis is a player who you have to assume is going to miss time because of injury, and Al Horford is 38-years-old, meaning he doesn't have much time left in the league. Considering he has played the third most postseason games ever without an NBA Finals victory (according to ESPN), he might even decide to ride into the sunset of retirement if Boston does win the title.
Luke Kornett is even set to hit the open market, so it is safe to say that the Celtics need insurance at the center position. With one of the best perimeter defensive teams around him, Edey's defensive weakness would be masked. He won't be asked to do more than he is capable of on that end, and Boston can still play at an elite defensive level even if critics' concerns about Edey's defense are warranted.
The same could be said about the big man's offense. Boston is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league, so spacing with Edey on the floor wouldn't be as big of an issue as it would be on other teams. Opponents would have to focus heavily on stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Porzingis, which would prevent teams from double-teaming the Purdue prospect, and he would surely thrive against one-on-one coverages.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls seem destined to blow up their big three of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic this summer. The core never worked out the way Chicago expected it to, and a rebuild could be on the horizon. Chicago's only pick in 2024 is pick 11. That might be a little rich to select Zach Edey, but a trade to draft the big man is not out of the question. It is even possible that the Bulls believe in Edey enough that they would just draft him in the lottery.
Regardless, acquiring the Purdue superstar one way or another does make a lot of sense, as Chicago is one of the better fits for the Purdue product. Chicago is only a couple hours away from Purdue, and Edey would be a potential building block for the team going forward.
The team is stacked on the wing. They need more big-bodied players, especially considering Vucevic has been one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA over the last few seasons. Chicago is also a team that has made Andre Drummond a quality backup center despite the fact that a lot of the league gave up on him.
Drummond's play style, like Edey's, is considered a little bit outdated. In fact, they are somewhat comparable players. Drummond is set to become a free agent, though, so Edey could immediately come in and play Drummond's role. His interior presence on both ends of the floor would be welcomed, and if he performs well at the NBA level, then he could be looked at as a long-term option for the Bulls center spot.
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