Former NBA journeyman Nick Young said in a recent post on X that if he were the San Antonio Spurs, he would try to target Purdue University big man Zach Edey and University of Tennessee, Knoxville guard Dalton Knecht in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.
As a coach if I was the spurs I’m taken Dalton Knecht and edey biggest team in the league the new Duncan and David Robertson
— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) March 31, 2024
Edey has been one of the most dominant players in all of college basketball in his fourth season with the Boilermakers. He has dominated both sides of the ball, as in 36 games played thus far in the 2023-24 campaign, he is averaging 24.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.2 blocks per game on 62.4 percent shooting from the floor.
He helped lead the Boilermakers to a win over the Volunteers in the Elite Eight on Sunday by putting together arguably his best performance of the season. Edey dropped a whopping 40 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field and 14-of-22 from the charity stripe while also making his presence felt on the glass, evidenced by the fact he grabbed 16 rebounds.
Thanks in large part to Edey’s scoring and rebounding master class, the Boilermakers punched their ticket to the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
While Knecht’s Volunteers came up short against Edey’s Boilermakers, the 22-year-old guard arguably put together an equally impressive scoring display. He nearly matched Edey’s point total with 37, but unlike the big man, Knecht did much of his scoring from behind the 3-point line.
Six of Knecht’s 14 made shots from the floor came from 3-point range.
The latest NBA mock draft from Bleacher Report has Knecht going to the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 15 pick and Edey getting drafted by the Boston Celtics with the No. 30 pick.
Plus, the Spurs could have up to two first-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, one being their own and the other being a protected pick from the Toronto Raptors.
It’s unlikely that San Antonio would use its own pick to select Edey or Knecht, considering that selection is projected to be one of the top picks in the draft. However, the Spurs using the first-round pick from the Raptors — if it conveys — on Knecht seems within the realm of possibility based on where he landed in Bleacher Report’s recent mock draft.
