Going Forward, Who Do You Take: Drummond or Gobert?

[Winsome Gerbil]

Which of these two young centers would you rather have anchor the middle for you heading into the future? Andre Drummond? Or Rudy Gobert?

[cyclix]

Thats easy: Rudy Gobert.

The difference is defense. Gobert is an elite rim protector. His superior length can really disrupt teams. Whereas, Drummond is physically maxed out and Gobert still has frame to add size and strength. Gobert is more fluid on offense while Drummond moves too mechanically for my liking.

[Effercon]

Gobert.

Ceiling predictions: Drummond = Kevin Willis, Gobert = Dikembe Mutombo, and obviously, Mutombo > Willis.

[DreDay]

Gobert, and it's not a tough decision at all. Gobert's D alone is DPOY level, and I don't ever see Drummond getting close to that level. Any dominance he has over boards and athletically will not make up for the substantial defensive gap. Not to mention I feel Gobert can still improve more offensively compared to Drummond, but even if not I'd still take him.

[HeartBreakKid]

Gobert, and it's not a tough decision at all. Gobert's D alone is DPOY level, and I don't ever see Drummond getting close to that level. Any dominance he has over boards and athletically will not make up for the substantial defensive gap. Not to mention I feel Gobert can still improve more offensively compared to Drummond, but even if not I'd still take him.

I think it is pretty clearly Gobert as well, but I don't see why Drummond could not become a DPOY or come "close to it".

Drummond is a good defender as he is, and he is a full year younger than Rudy Gobert. Why do you think his defensive upside is so limited?

We ask this question when Gobert is the same age as Drummond (aka last year), and guess who the clear pick is....

[Johnny Firpo]

Gobert is miles ahead of Drummond as a defender while having a higher offensive ceiling as well. Drummond might be the better offensive player today, but I'm not even sure about that. I think this is a relatively easy decision.

[cyclix]

Both won't ever be real offensive threats, but Gobert has potential to be an ATG defender.

[princeofpalace]

This is easily Gobert. Drummond in three years has not shown himself to be the type of transformative defender that Gobert is now. Add to that Gobert is also a considerably better shot blocker, is more adept at passing and isn't a big downgrade as far as rebounding or offense is concerned and its a no brainer.

[Arman_tanzarian]

Gobert. Mainly because of defence.

[Dr Positivity]

Gobert, I was more impressed by his impact last year than anything I've seen from Drummond and the word is Gobert is a killer work ethic/personality wise

[justinian]

ATG defender? is this the same Gobert who was schooled by a 35-year-old Pau Gasol dropping 40pts on him?

I think the value of an anchoring big isn't as valuable these days anymore as the prevalence of small ball, see the NBA finals, both big men were played out of the game due to the inability to guard on switch in the perimeter

[H2tObes]

Gobert is simply a better player at this point. Drummond would need to become an elite defender and improve his offensive game for me to change my mind

[whitehops]

how does gobert have more potential offensively? he took 22 hook shots last year and hit 23% of them. meanwhile drummond shot 192 of them and hit them at a 47% rate. 47% by itself isn't great but drummond did get a lot better as the year went on.

i would take drummond for his impact on both ends of the floor.

[RSCD3_]

stats battle

ESPN RPM 14-15
Gobert 77th overall 13th among centers 1.97 (-1.66/3.63)
16.9 PP100 on 62.5 TS%
19.1 RP100 with 14.3 ORB%, 27.2 DRB%, 20.7 TRB%
2.7 AP100 on 0.49 (AST%/TOV%) ratio , 2.9 Assist bad pass ratio
1.6 SP100 4.7 BP100, combined stock% = 8.6
122 ORTG 98 DRTG 21.6 PER
5.8 BPM (0.7/5.1)9.3 WS (0.206 WS/48 ) 5.0 OWS 4.3 DWS

ESPN RPM 14-15
Drummond 120th overall 19th among centers 0.74 (-0.07/0.81)
23.4 PP100 on 50.4 TS%
22.8 RP100 with 18.3 ORB%, 30.1 DRB%, 24.0 TRB%
1.1 AP100 on 0.40 (AST%/TOV%) ratio, 2.2 Assist bad pass ratio
1.5 SP100 3.2 BP100, combined stock% = 6.3
107 ORTG 100 DRTG 21.4 PER
0.2 BPM (-1.1/1.2 )7.7 WS ( 0.147 WS/48 ) 3.4 OWS 4.3 DWS

Yeah for what roles they play, I think Gobert is the better at his and I don't know how productive one can be as a major component of a team's offense when they have 20%+ USG and less than 5.0 AST%, I doubt rudy would look that good in the same role but even with him being used as a finisher probably more than drummond his passing numbers are still better. IMO Gobert is better at this stage at everything but rebounding where drummond holds a convincing edge.

Here's a list of players that have had seasons of over 20% USG and less than 5% AST and sub 53 TS%

Who on this list ever became anchors or approached dwight's level on offense?

http://bkref.com/tiny/xaLM8



I love drummond as a person but although he's better than his stats due to poor circumstances Ideally he should be a second option, and he needs to make strides in offense to catch up to gobert even if his defense improves to top 5 center defensively

[RebelWithACause]

Gobert clearly!

Why?

- better defender
- better rim protector
- better awareness and IQ
- better free throw shooter
- has more of a mean streak to him

Drummond has major potential though as well, Gobert is just better right now and has more potential overall.
Both could be DPOY's for years to come.

Both guys project to be very valuable offensive players as well, if they stay at a 10-15 ppg clip.
Ultra high efficiency, great at setting screens, finishing, PnR, offensive rebounding.
Neither one is a creator or will be (or should be) a volume guy on offense.
The focus should be on defense.

For Drummond, while he has the potential and raw numbers, the defense isn't there yet and his mediocre free throw shooting is quite a negative on offense and in general.

[DreDay]

Gobert, and it's not a tough decision at all. Gobert's D alone is DPOY level, and I don't ever see Drummond getting close to that level. Any dominance he has over boards and athletically will not make up for the substantial defensive gap. Not to mention I feel Gobert can still improve more offensively compared to Drummond, but even if not I'd still take him.

I think it is pretty clearly Gobert as well, but I don't see why Drummond could not become a DPOY or come "close to it".

Drummond is a good defender as he is, and he is a full year younger than Rudy Gobert. Why do you think his defensive upside is so limited?

We ask this question when Gobert is the same age as Drummond (aka last year), and guess who the clear pick is....

IMO, it's hard to develop the instincts, awareness, IQ and feel for the game that Gobert seems to have on the defensive side of the ball. He may have insane athleticism, but so does someone like DeAndre who hasn't really jumped into a DPOY level defender either. Drummond can be a positive defender for sure, but there's a long way from positive to DPOY level as a centre.

[Prez]

Gobert is one of the few centers in the league who Drummond doesn't have a significant physical advantage over. And the age difference is almost negligible. The difference to me is that Gobert's BBIQ, instincts, and innate awareness on defense are so vastly higher than Drummond's, I don't think their ceiling on that end is really that close. Gobert is just a natural defensive anchor, and at 23 is already arguably the highest impact defender in the league, which is scary considering he's likely 4-5 years from his peak.. Drummond at only a year younger isn't much of a defensive presence at all. Not bad, but not a gamechanger like Rudy.

Offensively, **** if I know. Drummond can easily put up 16-17 a night in his prime or even as soon as next year with zero improvements to his post game and FT shooting. If he adds a couple moves and can bring his FT shooting from laughable to just bad, sky is the limit.

[GYK]

Drummond
Higher celing. Gobert might be the next Wallace. Drummond is still a broader shoulder more aggressive scorer. I don't thin his finishing is going to stay this bad(for him).

Gobert is safer. Jazz is going to be a great defense. they find their Bllups they might be Detriot(if I was Rudy I would go East).

[tsherkin]

Drummond
Higher celing. Gobert might be the next Wallace. Drummond is still a broader shoulder more aggressive scorer. I don't thin his finishing is going to stay this bad(for him).

Interesting take. Drummond is incompetent from the line and has no range, nor is he a terribly awesome passer. That leaves his offensive ceiling closer to Wallace's than Gobert's. Rudy, by contrast, is the superior FT shooter and actually finishes at a higher rate around the rim.

Naturally, there are contextual factors to consider (such as Drummond's offensive rebounding), but given some of the above, it isn't terrifically reasonable to look at Drummond as having a considerably different offensive ceiling... especially next to a statement that reduces Gobert to Ben Wallace, to whom he is already superior on O.

This is going to be an interesting comparison going forward, I think. Drummond is going into his fourth season and just actually had his worst offensive season to date. I expect a rebound season this year, of course, but the idea that he's going to turn into something more significant offensively as a guarantee is a bit off to me. I do agree that his finishing around the rim will likely return to what we saw the two previous seasons. His draw rate seems another likely candidate to bounce back, but it's clear that he's not a focal offensive player, nor is he likely to develop into such.

[HawaiianJazzFan]

ATG defender? is this the same Gobert who was schooled by a 35-year-old Pau Gasol dropping 40pts on him?

I think the value of an anchoring big isn't as valuable these days anymore as the prevalence of small ball, see the NBA finals, both big men were played out of the game due to the inability to guard on switch in the perimeter

Gobert has stopped gasol more times than he hasn't. Look at their last regular season game where Gobert dominated the entire Bulls front court. Gasol did get him but when Gobert was on the floor France was still +13, and they were terrible without him on the floor. How well did Spain's big men play last year against France, when France won the whole thing.