Toronto’s Zach Edey has been one of the most anticipated Canadian prospects in the NBA for many years. He hopes to play for the Toronto Raptors, but he will have to wait until the draft to find out his fate.
The 7-foot, 4-inch, 300-pound pivot is expected to be selected in the middle of the first round when the auction gets underway Wednesday evening. The Raptors hold the 19th and 31st overall picks.
To be drafted by any team would be a blessing, but to be drafted by Toronto, that’s the team I watched growing up, Edey said after a practice with the Raptors on June 4. This is the team that all my friends watch, that my family watches. That would be really cool.
Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and two assists in 39 games with the Purdue University Boilermakers in 2023-24. For his entire career in the NCAA, his averages are 18.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 assists in four campaigns.
The 22-year-old was rewarded for his season when he won the Naismith Award as the United States’ college player of the year for a second time on April 7. Only Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson and Bill Walton have achieved this feat.
Despite his success in the NCAA, his lack of agility and speed means he could slip in the draft.
I don’t think I’m close to my full potential, he argued. I always do things in training that I’ve never done before, I try to add new things to my game.
I don’t think I’m a finished product in any aspect of my game, I think I can still improve in every aspect.
A quote from basketball player Zach Edey
Dan Tolzman, the Raptors’ assistant general manager, said it’s hard to say how a player will perform in the NBA until he faces that level of competition.
It’s not just about Edey, Tolzman said Tuesday. All these players come from almost a different sport. College basketball, international professional basketball, it’s not the same style of play.
The shot clock is different, the three-point line – everything that makes players really good at this level is different in the NBA.
The NBA changed the format of its draft this year, moving the second round to the next day. Teams can therefore extend their thinking process. With their second choice (31st overall), the Raptors are in an enviable position.
“We’re preparing for the phones to be busy ahead of this selection because, as we all know, there are always players who inexplicably slip into the second round,” Tolzman said. We could therefore have more calls than during drafts held in one day.
I think we line up to keep the choice, unless something happens.
The Raptors began a rebuilding process in 2023-24, trading OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett on December 30. They then sent Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in a huge trade on January 17th.
The Raptors’ new core, with Scottie Barnes, Barrett and Quickley, are all under 25 years old.
We have a group of young people that we are looking to strengthen and there are some gaps that we need to fill, Tolzman said.
We know our long-term needs and we know what we have to do with the draft and the free agent market.
The market will open on June 30 at 6 p.m., but players and teams will have to wait until July 6 to sign contracts.
2024-06-25 23:15:29
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