Shane Edwards

Shane Edwards - Edwards has capitalised on his breakout season last year by becoming one of the best players in the D-League. The power forward in a small forward's body has not made any significant strides to becoming a better small forward; rather, he's focused his efforts on becoming a better power forward. It's working, too, as Edwards has uppsed his scoring (12.7ppg in 2009 to 19.9ppg in 2010), his rebounding (5.3 to 7.8) and his assists (0.8 to 2.0), with only a slight decline in his efficiency (59% FG from 62%). This was expected with such an enhanced scoring load, yet it also disguises the fact that Edwards gets to the line 8 times a game and hits them at 76%, resulting in a true shooting percentage of .649%. 6'7 220lb power forwards are not the norm at the NBA level, but when you're good, you're good.

Edwards played for the Nuggets in summer league, and played well, averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 5 games. Before summer league began, I wrote this about him:

Shane Edwards was a decent 6'7 forward at Arkansas-Little Rock, who went on to become a decent D-League player. What makes a decent D-League player? Something like 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.12 fouls and 0.8 blocks in 25 minutes per game, shooting 63% from the field and 72% from the foul line. Edwards can't really play away from the basket and is small for the interior, but he is very athletic and is improving as a post-up player.

Summer league is a good place for decent D-League players, since it's much the same calibre, and Edwards performed decently as a result. But the concern about his measurements and style of play are still true. Edwards didn't take or make a three in summer league, and went 0-1 from there in the D-League last year. He's athletic enough to be a small forward, and will run the court, but he doesn't have a small forward's ball skills. This makes him the classic tweener - too small for power forward, but without the small forward's skill set. If you want a tough but possible challenge, name 150 more of these.

Shane Edwards

Shane Edwards was a decent 6'7 forward at Arkansas-Little Rock, who went on to become a decent D-League player. What makes a decent D-League player? Something like 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 fouls and 0.8 blocks in 25 minutes per game, shooting 63% from the field and 72% from the foul line. Edwards can't really play away from the basket and is small for the interior, but he is very athletic and is improving as a post-up player.