The education of Andre Drummond

[deathroh]

I'll admit I wasn't as interested in the draft back then, especially since I had forgotten about the Memphis pick until after the season. At the time I thought we needed a big man to pair with Ben or an upgrade on Prince. At the time I thought Carmelo was the obvious 2nd best player in the draft and that we would take him. I didn't expect Darko to be a bust, but I didn't think he was really in the running. At the time Darko was this super skilled center who was aggressive and could score from anywhere. I wasn't keen on a jump shooting big man (this opinion has changed over time, I'm fine with a shooting big as long as he stays efficient and isn't a liability on defense), and probably didn't know a whole lot about Darko outside the confusing and conflicting hyperbole surrounding him.

If I could redo the draft, I would probably take Bosh. Wade is the better player, but Bosh is a perfect fit between Ben-Tay, and could have been a much better top option as a scorer. Rasheed has also been highly overrated from his time with us. He was a great defender, but actually a terrible scorer because he always settled for bad shots despite being a very middling shooter overall. At the time I would have taken Melo - who isn't a bust, but may have been a very frustrating Piston given his disregard for playing defense.

Agree pretty much across the board. Especially on the Rasheed comments...

 

[food4thought]

Getting back to Drummond, I think it was the no-brainer pick for our needs. But like everyone said, he's a project. I don't expect much of anything to start out, but hope to see him gain minutes as the year progresses... offensively I expect very little, but hope he contributes on defense and rebounding.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

Getting back to Drummond, I think it was the no-brainer pick for our needs. But like everyone said, he's a project. I don't expect much of anything to start out, but hope to see him gain minutes as the year progresses... offensively I expect very little, but hope he contributes on defense and rebounding.

Completely agree on all counts. Probably the most overlooked need of the Pistons is star potential. Henson may be better in year one, and will likely stick in the league for a long time. But with the current makeup of the team, we aren't going to pick high enough for a guaranteed star, and Monroe is the only one who currently is a star. We had to swing for the fences because we would be stuck drafting medium impact role players year after year and just barely making the playoffs otherwise.

I'm really expecting Drummond to start off with low minutes and limited impact/production. We'll see flashes of dominance a few times, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if by next year we had a number of fans calling him a bust. There's just SO much he still needs to learn. But, if he does learn it (and he sounds very coachable), he could be the next Dwight Howard. And that's the kind of luck we'll need to have a real chance of dethroning Miami or OKC in the future.

 

[beez]

Completely agree on all counts. Probably the most overlooked need of the Pistons is star potential. Henson may be better in year one, and will likely stick in the league for a long time. But with the current makeup of the team, we aren't going to pick high enough for a guaranteed star, and Monroe is the only one who currently is a star. We had to swing for the fences because we would be stuck drafting medium impact role players year after year and just barely making the playoffs otherwise.

I'm really expecting Drummond to start off with low minutes and limited impact/production. We'll see flashes of dominance a few times, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if by next year we had a number of fans calling him a bust. There's just SO much he still needs to learn. But, if he does learn it (and he sounds very coachable), he could be the next Dwight Howard. And that's the kind of luck we'll need to have a real chance of dethroning Miami or OKC in the future.

Right, you guys don't need the next Chris Wilcox..a shot at getting the next DeAndre Jordan is worth the pick.

 

[Indy]

He could be the next Dwight Howard or the next Darko.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

He could be the next Dwight Howard or the next Darko.

I don't think he could be Darko, if only because he wasn't drafted as high and everyone was aware that he's a project. Even if he busts, I don't think many fans will be up in arms (like they have been with Darko) about it. Most would agree even then that he was worth the risk at the time (as opposed to Darko where I think most people thought Melo was the right pick then and later).

Honestly though, I think Drummond is going to progress more like Bynum. Bynum barely played his first year despite a gaping hole from the Shaq trade. He was closer to a 6th man in year two (just over 20 mpg). This was despite actually being healthy his first two years. He was even playing behind such center stalwarts as Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. Bynum really broke out in his 3rd season, after flashes of dominance in the first two seasons and winning the starting job straight up. Drummond probably follows a similar path. This first year is all about learning, both fundamentals of the game and role on the court. Hopefully by year two we can use him as our starter, but accept his limitations. And by year 3, with plenty of experience and coaching, we can hopefully see him start to be the gamechanger his talent suggests.

 

[mhughes0021]

commenting on this a little late but drummond looked like a monster in the celtics game. Can we get the kid some more minutes yet?!

 

[deathroh]

Going back to 12/11 (19 games) he's averaging 9.1 pts, 9.1 reb, 2.1 blk, and shooting 64%.

Thank goodness the Pistons didn't tank and bypass Drummond with a higher pick...

 

[deathroh]

...oh, I didn't compute it, but it looks like he averaged around 23 minutes during that stretch.