Howard/Bynum pre-draft scouting reports

[need4detroit]

And theres no problem with that. I think Henson will be a good pro. Hes more nba ready than Drummond, but I just think people are blowing the Drummond 'bust potential' out of proportion.

[ComboGuardCity]

Dieng is 22 playing for one of the most stable college programs.

[bkseven]

They are really raptor fans

[Scout Taron]

I dont think that Drummond has a very high chance of being a complete bust, just because it's impossible to be useless when you're that big and athletic. But as he is right now, he's likely not to make an impact. Gonna be a liability on the boards and on offense for now.

[mercury]

100% OK with "BIG OR BUST"... safe baby steps wasn't going to get us very far.

[need4detroit]

100% OK with "BIG OR BUST"... safe baby steps wasn't going to get us very far.

Yeah but its more like "BIG or Deandre Jordan.

[mercury]

100% OK with "BIG OR BUST"... safe baby steps wasn't going to get us very far.

Yeah but its more like "BIG or Deandre Jordan.

That'll work

[need4detroit]

100% OK with "BIG OR BUST"... safe baby steps wasn't going to get us very far.

Yeah but its more like "BIG or Deandre Jordan.

That'll work

Exactly.

[FlipTSO]

]
(Flip, since you brought it up, would you consider Gorgui Dieng likely to be a 'good' NBA player? He averaged similar stats to Drummond--9/9 and 3.2 blocks--last year at Louisville, which also plays in the Big East. Sorry if I sound like a d*ck, but in the definition I'm using those stats don't make you a good NBA prospect.)

Yes, I like Dieng a lot and think he's going to be very good defensive big man in the NBA when he declares. Not because of his stats but because he's a great defender. You can't have it both ways on Drummond. You can't say he's not going to be good in the NBA based on what you saw in college, and then say his stats don't apply in the discussion. Obviously success in college doesn't equal success in the NBA, but failure in college also doesn't equal failure in the NBA.

The things that do seem to always translate the best though are defense, rebounding, and shot-blocking. Thats why I'm convinced Drummond will be a good player in the league right away, and also why I think Dieng will eventually be as well. I think Drummond can have a Deandre Jordan type impact right away for the Pistons, even while he's still raw. Then as he refines his game and develops his offense he has potential to become a beast on both ends. But all we needed out of this pick was a Deandre Jordan type Center with size, strength, athletcism, shot-blocking, etc. I'm confident we got that in Drummond. Anything he develops beyond that is gravy.

[bkseven]

pre-draft scouting reports is where deandre jordan happens

[Dirtgrain]

^^Convinced? We cannot be sure what Drummond will become. His inability to block out for defensive rebounds is a huge problem until it is solved sufficiently. That problem along with his absurdly horrendous free throw shooting mean that he cannot be on the floor during crunch time. I am impressed by his man-to-man defense, and his shot blocking is promising, but blocking out is a part of defense, too--big men will score plenty on him because of his inability to block out. His plusses on defense are negated by his blocking out problem.

I've seen it posted many times that Drummond will learn to block out, that it's an easy skill to learn. Why is there an assumption that coaches haven't tried to teach him this skill? Surely coaches have. That is a red flag. Yes, he is young, and I am hoping that he can get significantly better at it. But I'm not assuming that it will happen (it is one big part of the gamble on Drummond).

As for the free throws, we don't know that he will improve, either. It seems that his percentage can only go up. Still, we've seen plenty of players who could not noticeably improve free throw shooting.

Let's hope that he can get significantly better regarding these two problems. If he does, then we can start thinking about him becoming a good player (maybe a great player if his defense is that good). If he doesn't improve on those two problem areas, then does anybody here think he will get significant playing time?

[joseph mamah]

people keep saying that if drummond were that good he wouldnt have been passed over by 8 teams, but if you look at the teams that passed him over its understandable, N.O taking Davis was a no brainer, Washington already had two quality vets in place in nene and okafor and they needed a shooter to put next to wall, im sure wizards fans are getting restless, they need to compete now they dont have 2 or 3 years to wait on a guy. Sac has cousins already in place and T rob has instant impact potential. charlotte has michael jordan. i dont think anybody really knows what cleveland was thinking. the other three teams golden state, toronto and portland have somewhat long histories of taking the wrong guy.

[joseph mamah]

Golden State has taken J Rich over Joe Johnson, Dunleavy over Caron Butler, Diogu over Bynum, Brandan Wright over Joakim Noah and Anthony Randolph over Hibbert. Toronto has taken Micheal Bradley over Zach Randolph, Kareem Rush over Tayshaun, Charlie V over Bynum, Bargnani over Aldridge and they drafted Hibbert and immediately traded him for an injury prone Jermaine O'neal. Portland has taken Qyntel Woods over Tay, Travis Outlaw over Josh Howard, Telfair over Jameer nelson, Martell Webster over Danny Granger, Oden over Durant and Eliot Williams over Jordan Crawford and thats only in the last decade. decisions like that dont give me much confidence in those teams scouting abilities. Though Portland had an excellent draft in 06 they blew it by bombing out on the 07 draft.

[joseph mamah]

im not saying one way or another how drummonds going to pan out but the blocking out which most people say is his biggest weakness right now defensively I dont think is going to be that hard to correct , im sure his high school coaches did try to teach him but like any kid you can talk until your blue in the face but until they learn the hard way theyre never going to listen. In high school he was so much bigger and more athletic than the other guys that he really didnt have to box out to get most of his boards. In college that team and staff were in so much turmoil dre boxing out was the least of their problems. stepping into the league where there are many big athletic guys he's going to learn real quick that if he doesnt box out he wont be on the court very long which hopefully will motivate him to work hard to improve his game in that area and with Big Ben and moose working with him he has two very good guys to learn the skill from. It sucks that he cant shoot a free throw to save his life but he wouldnt be the first big man with that problem it hasn't kept Shaq or Howard off the court and it seems to me at this point his free throw shooting is more a mental block than a talent deficiency. hopefully he can work through that as well.

[Jodi]

i dont think anybody really knows what cleveland was thinking. the other three teams golden state, toronto and portland have somewhat long histories of taking the wrong guy.

Yeah, when people say Knight, Monroe, and Drummond fell to us I usually laugh...I blame there team scouts and there front office for passing on BK, Moose, and Dre...We never traded up or traded down, Dumars just did a good job picking good players...Dumars could have passed on talent just like he did 2003, lol...

[joseph mamah]

The way i see drummond as a pistons fan is that it feels like we've been wandering around the desert for the last few years and we may have finally stumbled upon an oasis, theres a good chance its just a mirage, but im going to drink the water anyway if i end up with a mouth full of sand so be it.

[mercury]

Best quote of the day...From "balldontlie"...
"IMO... The best strategy with this kid (at this point anyway) is to treat him like he's the 2012/13 starting Center for the Detroit Pistons. Tell him he's great and you're expecting great things from him. Build his confidence sky high. Make sure he knows that the team EXPECTS starting Center caliber play. Play him with the first team in training camp and in practice. Let him start preseason games and hear his name anounced during player intros.

If you treat him like he's a freaking stud - he'll act like a stud.
If you treat him like a kid who needs to develop and be brought along slowly, he'll take much longer to reach his full potential."
WORD!

[Warspite]

I dont think that Drummond has a very high chance of being a complete bust, just because it's impossible to be useless when you're that big and athletic. But as he is right now, he's likely not to make an impact. Gonna be a liability on the boards and on offense for now.

I think Drummonds bust potential goes up with every post by Jodi.

Its all about expectations and where your baseline is. The bigger homer you are like Jodi the more likely you are going to be disapointed and the greater chance you think hes a bust. The lower your expectations are the less likely Drummond is going to let you down.

Im thinking hes a 5ppg 6rpg player as a rookie. Jodi thinks hes a double/double guy. I simply cant imagine Drummond playing many mins and being a 25% FT shooter.

Imagine when the Spurs come to town and Drummond is on the court with Ben.

[Jodi]

Jodi thinks hes a double/double guy. I simply cant imagine Drummond playing many mins and being a 25% FT shooter.

Imagine when the Spurs come to town and Drummond is on the court with Ben.

huh?? When did I say Drummond will be a double/double guy his rookie season?? I said I think he'll average 8pts, 7rebs, and 1.6blks his rookie season...No need to put stats in my mouth bro...I DO think Drummond will be a defensive Amare Stoudemire in the future which he'll post double/double stats...

[Dirtgrain]

Jodi, you mean Amare Stoudemire offense with good defense? You think that? How certain are you? Give us a percentage.