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(Purdue: Center, Senior, 7-4)
Previous rank: 21 (-) / Best rank: 14 / Worst rank: NR
The Pelicans have numerous offseason items on their agenda, including gauging the Brandon Ingram trade market, finding a replacement for center Jonas Valanciunas, who’s expected to depart in free agency, and more, as noted on a recent HoopsHype Pelicans podcast episode.
In this aggregate mock draft update, the Pelicans find a center in two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey.
When asked what it was like to compete against Edey in the National Championship, UConn projected lottery pick Donovan Clingan gave a detailed scouting report when asked what stuck out to him about Edey.
“His size, strength, physicality, and he scores the ball,” Clingan replied. “He’s a great player. He’s tall and strong. It’s hard to move him in the post. He rebounds the ball at both ends at a high level. It was really hard to play against him. I want to go up against the best at the highest stage, so being able to go against Zach was an honor.”
While Clingan gave a positive scouting report, there are misconceptions about Edey’s game he’s trying to debunk during the pre-draft process.
“When you see someone who’s 7-foot-4, 300 pounds, you assume some things like he can’t move his feet, can’t shoot, can’t be mobile, and you assume he’s injury prone, but I think I can do a lot of the things people don’t think I can,” Edey said at the NBA Draft Combine. “I think I can move my feet and shoot the ball. People who are usually 7-foot-4 can’t make their free throws. I can do that. I can do things people don’t expect.”
Among the things Edey wants to show NBA teams is that he’s a better shooter than people realize.
“I think I need to show people I can shoot the way I believe I can,” Edey said. “I think, for the most part, teams kind of know what I’m good at. Teams have tons of film on me. Obviously, I think I’m quicker than teams think I am. I think I can shoot better than teams think I can.”
When asked where he believes his current draft range is by HoopsHype, Edey replied between 10 to 25, and if this pick holds, it could make sense for the bruising center.
