After leading Purdue to the Elite 8, Carsen Edwards is looking at a potential first round selection. Here’s my full scouting report:
Name: Carsen Edwards
Height/Weight: 6’0/ 199
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’6/ 7’10 ½
Hand size: 9”
Position: PG
College/ country: Purdue
Tools: Scoring, speed
Pros:
- Speedy guard
- Deep NBA range
- Good shooter on the move
- Good in the Pick & Roll
- Good athlete
- Long arms
Cons:
- Poor P&R defense- often late to switch
- Takes very difficult/bad shots
- Subpar playmaker for position
- Poor finisher at the rim
Overall: Carsen Edwards is an electric score first point guard. Edwards ran somewhat of a one-man show at Purdue, leading the Boilermakers to the Elite 8 and averaged 24.3 PPG, 2.9 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 3.1 TOPG on 39% shooting from the field overall, 35.5% from 3, and 83.5% from the free throw line. Edwards’ playing style is inefficient because of his forced shots that he takes early into the offense instead of looking to pass first. Additionally, he takes lots of moving shots and shots off the dribble, which generally are lower percentage shots. His poor finishing ability also plays a role in his low shooting percentages. He has the speed to get to the basket, but he must improve his touch around the rim.
More positively, Carsen Edwards is a great standstill shooter and has range on his jump shot that far extends the NBA 3 point line. If he focuses on taking more spot up shots and less moving shots, his efficiency will greatly increase.
Edwards has been dominating some workouts, so I expect him to go round one. However, I have a high second round grade on him.
NBA Comparison: Floor: Gary Neal; Ceiling: Trey Burke
Projected draft range: 23-35
Fit with the Mavs/ best fit:
It is very unlikely that Dallas selects Carsen Edwards in the draft, even if he is available in the second round when the Mavs pick at 37. His play style is not one that fits under Carlisle, and Trey Burke has a similar skillset. While Burke may not return to Dallas, he struggled to find minutes in a losing team’s rotation, which makes me skeptical about Edwards’ fit in Dallas.
The best fit for Edwards in his projected draft range is Phoenix at 32. If the Suns decide to pass on a point guard in the first round, Edwards would be a good scorer that could take pressure off of Devin Booker. The issue would lie in whether Edwards takes away from Booker, or takes pressure off of Booker. While Edwards isn’t the ideal point guard the Suns are looking for long term, he could serve as an offensive minded backup point guard for the future. The biggest downfall to him being in Phoenix with the current team composition would be his poor defense, which is arguably Phoenix’s biggest current flaw.
The high end of Carsen Edwards’ draft range lies in Utah. The Jazz could use a scoring point guard off the bench, and Edwards’ high character would fit with the culture in Utah. They could groom him and maximize his talents in a limited role early on. While Utah failed with Trey Burke 6 years ago, Edwards has a much different mentality that separates him from other scoring guards of the past.
