Zach Edey may seem an unlikely stretch big at first glance; after all, the Memphis Grizzlies rookie only attempted two 3-pointers during his four year college career and banked one of them in. Yet Coach Taylor Jenkins announced on Sunday at Memphis’ open practice that Edey has the “green light” from him coach Taylor Jenkins to take shots this season, especially given he joined Luke Kennard in participating in shooting contest. Here is fan footage capturing this action!
Edey and Kennard lost to Desmond Bane and Jake LaRavia (first to 60 makes), according to Memphis Commercial Appeal; yet the competition was close and Jenkins wasn’t surprised when Edey caught fire behind closed doors: He hadn’t been surprised, either: Jenkins told reporters via Action News 5 that Edey “has been working very hard, pre-practice, post-practice, night shooting. Being out there shooting was great – seeing it done right before our fans was amazing – seeing someone like Edey focused on improving his mechanics while staying consistent was evident.” Jenkins told reporters via Action News 5 that Jenkins wasn’t surprised at all to see Edey get into his groove:
Regarding when Edey will attempt 3-point shots during games, Jenkins stated there was “no target number.” Longtime Memphis Grizzlies followers know otherwise – Jenkins has long encouraged his players to “let it fly”. “My hope is for him to let his game and decisions unfold on its own,” Jenkins stated to reporters. “He’s doing an awesome job of finding opportunities – that you all may or may not have witnessed yet – to rim-run, play behind defense in the paint or move himself out on the perimeter to follow plays or just have free shots on him, I want him to feel that his shot counts for something.” All our guys need time and space to thrive; therefore I don’t wish to limit him by any means. Instead I want to see what his abilities are like; so far he’s shown me quite a lot and once game flow begins I will gain more insight into where his strengths and weaknesses lie. “But it has been exciting to watch him expand his game further on the perimeter. Free throw percentage isn’t an exact indicator of 3-point proficiency; however, Purdue senior Darius Edey shot 71% from free throw line as a senior and 74% as junior respectively at Purdue.” At one point in 2016, Edey told The Athletic that while he “definitely thought” he could develop his three-point shot, there hadn’t been any need for it due to being used primarily as an interior player as opposed to 7-1 Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez who could often find himself outside of the paint.
Lopez “has to space the floor because they have Giannis [Antetokounmpo], while on this team I am Giannis and people space around me”. After making his only three point shot off glass as a college player off glass rim – Edey joked he was “the best shooter in the country”. Months later at Chicago draft combine Edey joked his coach Matt Painter “was using me incorrectly for four years”, yet was serious about showing NBA teams his jump shot.
“I have always said I can shoot,” Edey stated at the combine, as quoted by reporters present. “You see it from free throw line practice; obviously my in-game reps won’t build quickly but this process should go fairly quickly; however, my core belief has always been that if asked I could fill a role like this.”
Edey made clear his understanding of his best qualities. “I am 7-foot-4, 300 pounds,” he explained, and that is his focus in life: to carve out space for himself in the paint while protecting his area and territory. This is what Edey plans on continuing doing throughout his career. He told reporters that, although he believes he can eventually “get there”, he wouldn’t necessarily be selected immediately to pick and pop or shoot 3-pointers. For now, Edey may best create space for Ja Morant by setting aggressive screens or acting as an early lob threat and contributing extra possessions to Memphis’ offense. He will also be an asset in the post, dissuading teams from switching pick-and-rolls. However, it seems highly unlikely that he’d fall so in love with his jump shot that it becomes his focus instead of bullying people around in the paint. Therefore, there’s no harm done if he works on it. Edey could become an all-star NBA performer by becoming enough of a catch-and-shoot threat that opposing centers stay out of his paint, creating an entirely different type of game-changer than in college. Should Edey take full advantage of his green light in Year 1, maybe like Jonas Valanciunas (another popular pre-draft comp) has in doing it since entering the league seven years ago. Valanciunas rarely attempts more than 2.5 3-pointers in 36 minutes or 2.1 per game, yet when open for trail 3s at the top of the key he shoots with confidence and aggression from deep. He shot 7 for 8 from deep during 2021-22 season while going 7/10 the following season!
Memphis will open their preseason slate against Dallas Mavericks Monday and you should expect Edey to set many screens for Morant. Should he choose instead to pop out for 3-point attempts instead of rolling to the rim, though, that would come as quite a shocker; but maybe Edey can find an open look mid-transition or pop out from out in transition for whatever reason; preseason lineups can get unpredictable so Edey may not always be seen as one of the worst shooters. A simple thought experiment: if Edey shared frontcourt space with Brandon Clarke (who averaged 68% free throw attempts and 24.3% from 3-point range since rookie season), who would you rather see to space out the floor?
Once again it’s that time. Our annual trip is almost upon us… don’t miss it… you won’t want to leave.
