Carsen Edwards' decision to stay in NBA draft hinges on feedback from multiple teams

CHICAGO — Once the lottery picks shake out, the more difficult task for NBA teams begins, trying to project among a field of mostly rotation players and developmental projects.

A lot of them will fail to stick, which is where Carsen Edwards comes in. If he spends another year at Purdue, will he be better prepared and can his draft position improve enough in 2019 to make that wait worthwhile?

“That would be the feedback I'll need to leave (with). I know they won’t give me a guarantee or anything,” Edwards said at the NBA Draft Combine. “If not first (round), early second round. If I get the feedback of the things I need to work on, that’s going to be just as helpful to go back to school and do those things. For me to stay it would be a certain position, a certain spot I want to go in.”

Unlike first-round picks, second-round picks don’t receive fully guaranteed deals. The first two years of a four-year rookie scale contract are full guarantees and the next two years are team options.

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Edwards, a shooting guard who averaged 18.5 points and shot 40.6 percent from 3, has generated at least enough interest to get workouts with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics. He has upcoming sessions scheduled with the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks.

Edwards hasn’t hired an agent, which means he still can return to Purdue for his junior season if he takes his name out of the draft pool by May 30.

When measurements were taken, Edwards registered a shade less than 5-11 which made him the shortest player of the 69 invitees. He sees how Fred VanVleet, a 6-foot guard in his second season, had a breakout season with the Toronto Raptors.

“It also gives me a little hope to know that there’s guys in the league that can do it at my height,” he said. “Honestly I didn’t even think I was that short until everyone else started to call me short.”

An NBA scout who watched Edwards play Friday told IndyStar: “He might be on the small side but that kid has some (toughness) in him. He’s got a chance to play in this league.”

Edwards’ spot in the NBA, if he’s destined to make it, wouldn’t be as a shooting guard where he plays for Purdue. He'd have a significant change in job description.

“Learn to run a team, learn to play the point guard position,” Edwards said of the message he has been getting from NBA teams. “Obviously, my role at Purdue wasn’t to play the point guard position. It’s understandable. They haven’t seen me play that but … continue to show I can run a team, I can run an offense, I can put guys in position and make guys around me better.”

This is what makes Edwards’ decision a difficult one. He has to decide if his little-used skills as a point guard are NBA level but he likely won’t have the security of a first-round pick’s guaranteed contract.

If he does not, the obvious question is this: Is returning to Purdue the best course for his development?

With two-way contracts, Edwards could find himself in the G-League to bridge that gap.