Purdue’s Carsen Edwards might not fit into the Pacers’ draft plans — for now

The Indiana Pacers have officially begun the draft process. On Tuesday, the team worked out a handful of players, including Purdue’s Carsen Edwards. Is he a realistic option in this year’s draft?

Carsen Edwards made a name for himself in Purdue’s four games during the 2019 NCAA tournament. Edwards became a star as he averaged 34.8 points per game on .451/.459/.806 splits.

The Boilermakers were a Cinderella team that was carried by Edwards, who was playing out of his mind. His performance in March catapulted his draft stock. Now, he is making his rounds to NBA teams.

The Pacers have a ton of questions heading into the summer. Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic are both set to hit free agency as well as Darren Collison and Cory Joseph. Indiana has holes at point guard and on the wing that need to be filled prior to the 2019-20 season. They’ll turn to free agency and the draft for help.

Would Carsen Edwards be worth a draft pick, given the question marks surrounding the roster? Let’s take a look.

The good: Carsen Edwards is the scorer the Pacers need

First and foremost, Carsen Edwards is a deadly scorer. We know that he shot 45.6 percent from deep in the tournament. He was a career 36.8 percent shooter beyond the arc, and 41.2 percent from the field.

However, he took a big step forward in 2018-19. His playing time jumped, as did his field goal attempts and scoring. He averaged 14.5 points in his first two seasons before boasting a 24.3 PPG average last season.

While he didn’t hit a high percentage of his shots, Edwards showed flashes of being a great pull-up shooter. He seemed to hit every transition shot during the tournament and made it look easy. He handles the ball well and knows how to utilize his ability to create space for a shot.

Edwards can also get to the bucket and has a nice touch around the rim. Being a smaller guard, his ability to finish at the rim is worth mentioning. He is not limited to the outside.

Edwards also carries good length. Despite being barely 6’0”, he has a 6’6” wingspan. He can play a little larger on the defensive end with long arms and a stout frame. His length also makes him a nice defensive rebounder for his size. He grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game last season and 4.8 per game in the tournament.

His tournament performance seems to be the upside of his game. Edwards hit big-time shots and racked up points in a hurry. Now, it is highly unlikely that he plays at that level consistently in the NBA.

The bad: A few physical limitations

Carsen Edwards is not a tall guy. His height will scare plenty of teams away during the draft process. It is difficult to find success in the NBA as a small guard, especially when he isn’t a primary ball-handler.

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He played the point at Purdue, but that is not his forte. Edwards is a shoot-first guard that struggles to share the ball in the half-court.

His transition passing is acceptable, but his first option is to find a spot to score. He has the skill set of a shot-creating two-guard but the size of a point guard. His fit in the league will be difficult to find.

Edwards needs to share the ball more but also take care of it. His assist-to-turnover ratio is far from great as he approaches the NBA. In his career, he averaged just 2.5 assists with 2.2 turnovers.

In his final season, it was even worse. He posted just 2.9 assists with 3.1 turnovers in 2018-19. In order to succeed at the next level, Edwards will need to prove that he can run the point and share the ball.

The NBA requires a ton of athleticism, of course. Edwards shows some good bounce at times, but his pure athletic ability isn’t enough to make up for his size. He could have a tough time adjusting to the speed of the NBA, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Not being a two-way guard will hurt Edwards.

Final verdict

The Indiana Pacers must address the point guard questions this summer. They also lack wing depth and shot-creators. Carsen Edwards is a small two-guard that does not fill any immediate needs in Indiana, but he has a chance to be a very successful NBA player.

Pick 18 is too rich, but Edwards likely will not be available when the Pacers are back on the clock at pick 50.

If the Pacers decide to trade back into the end of the first round or top of the second, Edwards may be a viable option.

However, as things stand now, I don’t see it happening. His value is not quite there at 18. Edwards does not offer much, if anything, that Indiana needs. Other players in the draft class fit the roster, and we will discuss them further throughout the draft process. Stay tuned.