Given the Celtics' financial situation, Jaylen Brown is on the cusp of a supermax contract, Jayson Tatum is next up for a supermax contract, and then Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are looming for extensions. , Brad Stevens needs to acquire future draft picks. it is clear. at 30th There's one player teams will definitely be keeping an eye on when they get selected in this year's draft. That's 7-foot-4 Purdue star Zach Eady.
Eadie has been a mainstay for the Boilermakers this season, averaging 25.0 points and 12.2 rebounds while shooting 62.9 percent from the field. He improved his performance even more this year, averaging 30.0 points and 16.3 rebounds, including 40 points in the Elite Eight game against Tennessee.
But when it comes to draft stock, Eady isn't the type to cause a stir within NBA scouting circles. He's a traditional big man in the paint, doesn't shoot threes and doesn't have the athleticism to recover. To protect the surroundings.
“There aren't a lot of teams that can put Zach Eady in their rotation and be like, 'Okay, this is going to work, this makes sense,'” one Eastern Conference GM told Heavy Sports. “That's the difficult thing about him in this draft. It's a big upside draft, but he's kind of a finished product. Boston will be fine. They've had their eyes on him all season.”
Zach Eady is slow and could struggle in the NBA
Sure, the Celtics like the three-point shot as much as anyone. He leads the league in 3-point shots made (42.6) and 3-point percentage (38.8%). They are also very good at defending the stripe, with his 34.9% defense from the arc ranking him second in the NBA. Playing slow like Eadie can ruin those numbers.
And the Celtics have Kristaps Porzingis starting at center, Al Horford is under contract for next year, and Luke Kornet has done a good job in the rotation. So why Edie?
“They want to put you in the post,” one league assistant coach told Heavy. “Three-point shooting is something that gets attention, but they know how to get inside the defense and post up. I mean, you have a kid like Edie, he has all the drop steps, moves, counters. They're good at it, especially when they're on the floor for 15 to 18 minutes in a game and just giving it a different look.”
In fact, according to NBA statistics, the Celtics post-up on 7.5% of their plays, second only to the Nuggets' 7.9%. However, they are tied for first in the NBA with the Pacers in scoring efficiency per possession in the post at 1.12.they were 24 years oldth Post-up frequency last year (2.8%)
“That's a lot of what I got from Porzingis,” the coach said. “Obviously, Porzingis' appeal is versatility. Edy doesn't have that. If that were the case, we'd be talking about him as a No. 1 pick. But if you're the Celtics and the backup If you want to focus on post-up play, there's no one in the draft who's better at that than Zach Eady.”
The Celtics are one of the best post-up teams in the NBA
Eadie's performance in this tournament could be a double-edged sword for the Celtics. He proved how dominant a big man with limited athletic ability can be, but he also gave 29 other teams a reason to bet on him in the draft.
“Once training begins, he could fall to the second round early,” the GM said. “But he's helped himself a lot in the last few weeks. His ceiling in the draft is in the high teens. This isn't a good draft, but there are a lot of guys like Miami, Milwaukee, Knicks, who want a sure thing. There may be a candidate who can't start, but is ready to play and is cheap. Some teams will like that.”
Cheapness is also important to Boston. If they bring everyone together, the Celtics will need to be careful with every dollar they spend. That could mean trading a pick to avoid guaranteed money or making sure to acquire a rotation player with the pick acquired.
Eady is unlikely to become an NBA star. But he has a role, and the Celtics certainly seem to be a team willing to have him play that role in Boston.
