The Brooklyn Nets are projected to take Purdue center Zach Edey with the 51st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, according to Cody Taylor of The Rookie Wire. This was revealed in Taylor’s latest version of his mock draft for the real draft that will happen on June 22nd.
Edey, 7’4″, 285 LBs, averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in 34 games during his junior season with the Boilermakers. He was sixth in the country in scoring and second in the nation in rebounding. Those numbers earned him the Associated Press Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season as well as the Big Ten Player of the Year.
From looking at his film, Edey towers over the competition once he steps on the court. While he’s not very athletic and doesn’t seem to be that fleet of foot, it looks like he has the ability to protect the rim with the best of them. It appears that his challenge will be how he finds his way into the NBA with how spaced the floor is nowadays. But, that would explain why he’s going late in the second round to a Brooklyn team that needs all the size it can get.
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