Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey is coming off a dominant performance in their win over the Sacramento Kings, totaling 32 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks while shooting 16-of-20 from the field. At just 23 years old, Edey is now the youngest player since Shaquille O'Neal to finish with 30+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 5+ blocks.
Edey's recent breakout resurfaces an old question that will haunt the Trail Blazers for years: Did Portland draft the wrong big man in 2024?
Donovan Clingan is good. Zach Edey is better.
Edey and Donovan Clingan are intertwined in this draft debate. Not only did they come out of the same class, but they were also the two most dominant centers at the collegiate level, as both led their teams to the NCAA national championship. Clingan had the better team, with UConn winning 75-60 over Purdue, but individually, Edey still got the better end of Clingan, finishing with 37 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks on 15-of-25 shooting from the field. Clingan, meanwhile, had 11 points and five rebounds.
In retrospect, it's surprising that Edey fell to the No. 9 overall pick in a historically weak draft class. Now in his second season, Edey is proving that the Blazers and other lottery teams overthought how he would project at the NBA level.
The primary concern surrounding Edey was how he would fit into the modern NBA as a 7-foot-3, 305-pound center with limited lateral movement that can get exposed defensively out on the perimeter. Clingan wasn't significantly better in that department at 7-foot-2, 280 pounds. Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter sometimes doesn't even have Clingan on the court to close out games, electing to play small with Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant in the frontcourt for more versatility.
So if these same weaknesses are playing Clingan off the court, why not fully lean into the strengths of a more physically imposing, traditional center?
Clingan has still been solid for Portland, justifying the No. 7 overall selection and their decision to move on from Deandre Ayton this summer. Still, he's not the offensive weapon that Edey is. What Edey gives up on the perimeter, he compensates for with a strong inside game. Clingan provides a similar interior presence in terms of his rebounding and rim protection, but is extremely limited as a scorer, which makes it harder for Portland to exploit mismatches. It will be a long time before we see Clingan have a 30+ point performance like the one Edey just displayed.
The Blazers still made a strong pick, landing their starting center of the future. But as Edey continues to ascend in Memphis, Portland's front office has to wonder whether they overthought who the better player was.