OT: Pistons select Andre Drummond

Submitted by KAYSHIN15 on

You heard it here first. The Stones will make the playoffs this year! Another great pick by Dumars. Thats his 3rd good pick in a row. On a sad note, now I have to spend another $300 on NBA League Pass. Am I the only one excited about this?

Edit: I know the kid shoots free throws worse than Ben Wallace, but the Pistons need shot blocking and rebounding. Hopefully Monroe, Stuckey, Jerebko, Knight, Prince, etc, can do the heavy lifting on the scoreboard.  Check out his highlight video on Youtube. I don't know how to embed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNvdH5Bzz_Y

go16blue

June 28th, 2012 at 8:37 PM ^

I love the pick, but I really wish they would decide to rebuild a bit. They have a lot of young talent there, especially now in the frontcourt, but they're a very far way away from competing on a serious level. I still don't get trading away next year's first round pick.

But all that having been said, I really like the pick, I'm happy he fell to us.

go16blue

June 28th, 2012 at 8:52 PM ^

Now I know. I'll admit I'm pretty fairweather when it comes to pro sports (though the Pistons are still my NBA team), so I didn't know, but this makes me feel much better about the trade. Getting rid of a mediocre pick for a lot of cap space could be a good thing, especially if AD pans out well.

AAB

June 28th, 2012 at 8:53 PM ^

The reward outweighs the risk.  He has a chance to be the 2nd best player in the draft class, which can't be said about anyone else on the board.  And I don't think he's so unlikely to pan out that the upside isn't worth the potential failure.  

jmblue

June 28th, 2012 at 10:18 PM ^

He's 18 years old and he was at UConn, where he was just one of several talented players.   It probably didn't help his development that his coach wasn't even there for half the season, either.  Some analysts consider him the second-best talent in the draft after Davis.

As for FTs, maybe he can try shooting Rick Barry-style.  (I want to see someone bring the underhand FT back.  It was awesome.) 

Blue boy johnson

June 29th, 2012 at 9:39 AM ^

I can't find his junior and senior year high school FT stats, but as a freshman in HS. he made 56% of his FT's and as a soph he made 44%.

http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/cIiwRqjEhkK-vwwyncOong/basketball-winter-07-08/stats-andre-drummond.htm

http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/6HpV6s2d7Emo9pJuUCdhuw/basketball-winter-08-09/stats-andre-drummond.htm

coldnjl

June 28th, 2012 at 8:42 PM ^

I am...but AD is no sure thing (immature and 29% at the charity stripe!!)...but he will be able to help this team alot this year. I don't think the playoffs are in the cards this year, but late in the lottery, but they have the pieces. Two trade chips (Maxielle if he opts in, and CM obviously) gives this team the ability to potentially bring in a PLAYER to complement the good pieces we have (Knight and Monroe). Hopefully AD gives us good minutes at C with 2< blocks a game and around 8 boards and develop his O next year.

robbyt003

June 28th, 2012 at 8:40 PM ^

He's definitely a project.  He is extremely young, with a ton of potential, but his shot is worse than Ben Wallace's.  He shot less than 30% from the FT line.  I'm pretty sure I could shoot my free throws granny style and make 3/10.  

Lac55

June 28th, 2012 at 8:41 PM ^

Yea this was a good luck of the draw for Joe D. and I'll take it. I like our starting lineup going forward. With Stuckey now firm at the two he needs to be that go to guy we need.

Harperbole

June 28th, 2012 at 9:28 PM ^

Who could end up being one of the biggest steals in the draft if he is coached up properly.  He has clearly been blessed with a body capable of making allowing him to dominate the paint.  He is one of the youngest guys in the draft and definitely has a ton of upside.  HOWEVER, if handled poorly he could turn out to be completely useless and because of his youth and the vulnerability that comes with it, there is always the danger that he ends up with the wrong attitude; a problem which athletes seem especially susceptible to in Motown.  I would love as much as anyone to have a reason to care about the NBA again, but for now I think the pistons still have a long loooong way to go before they're relevant again.

Mr. Rager

June 28th, 2012 at 9:18 PM ^

at pick 9, he is worth the risk. he is younger than mitch mcgary, actually. maybe the college game (in a shitty situation at uconn) was not for him. he is a beast physically.

there, i just said everything nice you could say about that pick.

Jskohl88

June 28th, 2012 at 9:18 PM ^

As Chad Ford and Jay Bilas said (I know I know, caveats apply to Bilas), Drummond is the guy that is going to get a GM fired, either for not picking him or for picking him. That's the best way to put a label on Drummond. The upside is tremendous, but the risk cannot be ignored

Danwillhor

June 28th, 2012 at 9:37 PM ^

Absolutely. The NBA is a sport where the "first round" is picks 1-5 if relating to the NFL. Kid has crazy upside but an absolute risk as well. Best pick possible at #9, IMO. The game is one of getting a star if you have a top 3 pick, a good player at 4 and 5 and then hoping and praying after. Some early guys bust and some later guys blossom but thats the exception, in my view. Hopefully we got a steal at 9.

JBE

June 28th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^

Risky pick, but the Pistons definitely need some frontcourt help, and now they just filled their biggest need. IMO, Drummond will be very good eventually. 

M-Wolverine

June 28th, 2012 at 9:31 PM ^

What ones that even mean? They're bodies, game, and situations are nothing alike. The only thing potentially similar is "bust". And even that, there's a world of difference between 2 and 9, and what was available at each time if you didn't take him.

All those who don't like it, that's fine....but as Kayshin asked above...who would you have taken? There were names. It's not impossible. But just to say "suck"....do better. I mean, if you like the pick everyone already knows who you think they should have taken....

jmblue

June 28th, 2012 at 10:22 PM ^

If he's Darko 2.0, be thankful that Larry Brown is no longer the coach.  Maybe Darko would've amounted to something if Brown didn't treat him like garbage and nail him to the bench.  He probably killed the kid's confidence.  A lot can come down to the situation a rookie finds himself in.

 

denardogasm

June 29th, 2012 at 12:02 AM ^

I don't know about that.  If anyone can develop and get the most out of players for the team it's Larry Brown.  He doesn't like stars.  He's not going to play the kid if he's not good enough.  He wasn't athletic enough for the NBA.

M-Wolverine

June 29th, 2012 at 1:24 AM ^

He was interested in players who could help him immediately, and his track record for bringing along rookies is pretty bad. He used to demand trades or players whenever they hit a slump, and was ridiculously fickle. He could teach if he thought you could help him, and was a great X & O's coach, maybe the best ever at inbound plays. But I'm not sure bringing along a rookie slowly was one of his strengths.

UMfanUConnalum

June 28th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^

I dont post much, but I'm an avid reader of the blog, a student at UConn and a Die hard Michgan football fan.

For those still in question about how good Drummond will be for the Pistons you should watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXB6vc5Z_A4. I know its a high school highlight tape, but he is the most athletic big man I have ever seen. He often seemed disinterested in the College game and from what Ive been told from many people is that he was just being lazy cause he really wanted to be in the NBA. 

This is just a small showing of what I think could be one of the best steals in draft history.

JBE

June 28th, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^

My team is in the Big East, so I follow it closely, and you're right. The dude can do all kinds of things on the court when I've watched him play, and he's a great athlete for his size. He's no Meyers Leonard, thank god. The Pistons will be happy with this pick. His effort was questioned, but UCONN was a mess last year, and pretty much everybody on the team, including Lamb, was wildly inconsistent because the atmosphere was wildly inconsistent.

mongoose0614

June 28th, 2012 at 9:33 PM ^

If you are a player you are not lazy or disinterested.  It doesn't work on the NBA level.  Just ask Michael Jordan and Kwame Brown.

Potential can often be defined as lazy and mentally weak.  Give me a Ben Wallace type over "potential" any day.  I want a player with some dog in them.  

 

It is never a good sign when Shaq and Ben Wallace could teach you how to improve your FT shooting percentage.

JBE

June 28th, 2012 at 9:40 PM ^

I really don't think this is it. I wouldn't call him lazy, just inconsistent. But I feel much of that was what was going on at UCONN this year. The exact same thing was said about Lamb too.

JBE

June 28th, 2012 at 9:34 PM ^

Why do you say that? I was mostly impressed with him when I saw him play. Played young at times for sure, but holy hell the man has serious NBA tools. He'll get minutes this year simply for his rebounding, and his game will grow.