I've always thought of Vincent Edwards as a player with NBA skill, NBA versatility and NBA relevance in this day and age, but without the physical attributes to cash in on those things easily.
It won't be easy for him from here on out. Now, as every drafted or signed player ought to recognize, the hard part comes.
It won't be easy for Edwards to crack the roster of one of the NBA's best teams, but nevertheless it had to be big for him to hear his name called Thursday night, to be validated not just in getting drafted, but in getting drafted by one of the smartest franchises in the game. The Edwards I talked to Wednesday didn't sound certain this would happen.
Circumstance obviously has not been kind to him.
There's no telling how differently — if at all — Thursday night would have played out had Edwards' Player-of-the-Year sort of season not been derailed by illness, then injury. The numbers there do not lie. Then, he was sucker-punched again by an injury during his NBA process.
Nevertheless, one of the most productive players Purdue's ever seen did get drafted, and good for him, because I'm sure this big for him. Of course it was. Who wouldn't it be big for?
Now, he gets his chance to prove what he may not have gotten his best chance to during the back half of his senior season, that he's not only good enough to play in the NBA but good enough to hold a roster spot on the one of the best rosters in the league.
That opportunity is all he could ask for.
His teammates will get there's too. Based off everything I've heard, I'd think Dakota Mathias already has offers on the table and will be spoken for quickly.
Isaac Haas, I have no idea. I doubt his off-the-court stuff matters very much and he's probably pretty close to being recovered from injury — that does not, however, earn him back all the time he lost to it — so now it just comes back to the same questions: Where does he fit in a league where big men now must run, shoot and guard ball screens?
Someone will give him a shot, I'm sure. How great a shot, and what he can do with that shot, those things remain to be seen.
It won't be easy for him from here on out. Now, as every drafted or signed player ought to recognize, the hard part comes.
It won't be easy for Edwards to crack the roster of one of the NBA's best teams, but nevertheless it had to be big for him to hear his name called Thursday night, to be validated not just in getting drafted, but in getting drafted by one of the smartest franchises in the game. The Edwards I talked to Wednesday didn't sound certain this would happen.
Circumstance obviously has not been kind to him.
There's no telling how differently — if at all — Thursday night would have played out had Edwards' Player-of-the-Year sort of season not been derailed by illness, then injury. The numbers there do not lie. Then, he was sucker-punched again by an injury during his NBA process.
Nevertheless, one of the most productive players Purdue's ever seen did get drafted, and good for him, because I'm sure this big for him. Of course it was. Who wouldn't it be big for?
Now, he gets his chance to prove what he may not have gotten his best chance to during the back half of his senior season, that he's not only good enough to play in the NBA but good enough to hold a roster spot on the one of the best rosters in the league.
That opportunity is all he could ask for.
His teammates will get there's too. Based off everything I've heard, I'd think Dakota Mathias already has offers on the table and will be spoken for quickly.
Isaac Haas, I have no idea. I doubt his off-the-court stuff matters very much and he's probably pretty close to being recovered from injury — that does not, however, earn him back all the time he lost to it — so now it just comes back to the same questions: Where does he fit in a league where big men now must run, shoot and guard ball screens?
Someone will give him a shot, I'm sure. How great a shot, and what he can do with that shot, those things remain to be seen.
