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I think it's pretty safe to say Drummond and Valanciunas are the most desired centre prospects in the league, I was just going to ask what pistons fans think of each players games and who do you think will have a more successfull career?

Drummond- I love his speed and athleticism for a 7 footer, his quickness seems unreal sometimes (back to back steals from wade are priceless) due to his athletic game I think he will be a better rebounder than Val, the biggest obstacle I think would be expanding his offense outside the paint, also he will be a superb defender.

Valanciunas- also surprisingly swift with his feet on post moves and drives, I think he has a great touch around the basket and will develop into an excellent post scorer, his offense is a step ahead of Drummond, as his jump shot seems pretty reliable from 15ft. Solid defender also.

It's hard to tell who will be better so I'm asking for feedback, all I know is that we are going to have good teams down the road with premier centres

I love both players.
I live in Toronto so i get to see Val a fair bit and i think he's going to be a great player. he's building on his offensive repertoire and he's got good size and athleticism. He also seems like a dedicated, hard working guy which always helps in the long run.

Maybe it's the homer in me, but i think Drummond has a higher ceiling though. His size, agility and athletic ability are just freakish, so if he can manage to refine his offensive game, he'll be a force. He has strong defensive instincts and his rebounding ability is already huge. I think he'll be on Dwights level soon, and that's not his ceiling. That's how good i think he'll be.

The next few years will be a lot of fun to watch.

Yeah this thread is not gonna end well. *grabs popcorn*

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I agree, Drummond fell in the draft because people questioned his motor or dedication correct? I think that's already been realized as a mistake, I'd already say he's a huge steal

Both have the potential to be top 5 centers. Drummond has multiple DPOY potential and he's a freak physically. Athletically he has a rare combination of size/quickness/hops/speed. I'd take Drummond to start a team today and believe he will be better.

Val is still a beast though. Still can't believe the Cavs passed on him for TT. I hope it wasn't just because they would've had to wait to bring him over.

Jonas Valanciunas I see as the next Brook Lopez (ie a top 15 C)

Andre, I see as the next Howard (ie can be the best C in the league)

MrBigShot wrote:Both have the potential to be top 5 centers. Drummond has multiple DPOY potential and he's a freak physically. Athletically he has a rare combination of size/quickness/hops/speed. I'd take Drummond to start a team today and believe he will be better.

Val is still a beast though. Still can't believe the Cavs passed on him for TT. I hope it wasn't just because they would've had to wait to bring him over.

For the life of me, I've never understood why the Cavs passed on Val. They had the chance to set themselves with a franchise PG and a franchise C in a single draft ... and they blew it. THEN they had the chance to pair Irving with Drummond a year later ... and chose Waiters instead. If there's one thing that Raptors and Pistons fans can all agree on, it's that we're grateful for the Cavaliers' draft blunders!

I can't agree with the Brooke Lopez comparison. While Lopez is a very good offensive player, the guy is a very poor rebounder for a 7 footer. I think Jonas will top him one day.
Him and Dre will be top 5

Yall are sleeping on Thompson, he's easily a better defender and rebounder than Jonas V. Jonas V has a more varied offense but neither are franchise players. I see TT as an Al Horford level player, I think he was a solid pick for the Cavs.

DCintheD wrote:I can't agree with the Brooke Lopez comparison. While Lopez is a very good offensive player, the guy is a very poor rebounder for a 7 footer. I think Jonas will top him one day.
Him and Dre will be top 5

Jonas V is not a good rebounder either. He was one of the worst rebounding bigs in the league last season with a rebounding rate of 14.9. Comparatively, Lopez' was only slightly lower at 13.4, Drummonds had 21.2 rebounding rate

Val i see as the next Gasol. A huge complimentary piece to a championship squad. where as Dre i see as a player who is going to dominate.


I also think Val's defense is a little over rated. i was expecting him to be freakishly athletic after what i've read in the scouting reports and i was a little disappointed. While it may sound that i am trashing Val, it is only because he did not meet my expectations, and i would not be surprised if he ends up proving me wrong.

Love Jonas, his ceiling isnt near Andre's but he can easily be a top 5 C in the NBA in a few years, hes got stud potential for sure.

princeofpalace wrote:Yall are sleeping on Thompson, he's easily a better defender and rebounder than Jonas V. Jonas V has a more varied offense but neither are franchise players. I see TT as an Al Horford level player, I think he was a solid pick for the Cavs.

DCintheD wrote:I can't agree with the Brooke Lopez comparison. While Lopez is a very good offensive player, the guy is a very poor rebounder for a 7 footer. I think Jonas will top him one day.
Him and Dre will be top 5

Jonas V is not a good rebounder either. He was one of the worst rebounding bigs in the league last season with a rebounding rate of 14.9. Comparatively, Lopez' was only slightly lower at 13.4, Drummonds had 21.2 rebounding rate

Will have to agree to disagree. Tristan Thompson is a role player who will rebound, play defense and finish plays. Good guy to have on your team, but not a potential star like Valanciunas is. The Gasol comparison was spot on imo.

Cavs could have had any Kyrie/Valanciunas/Drummond. That would be a ridiculous core to build around. Taking Bennett at 1 may come back to haunt them as well...

Can see val as a more physical gasol, needs better passing,
Dre comparisons to howard arent unreal, lets just hope he doesnt develop a similar personality

T_RAPS_FOR_LIFE wrote:Can see val as a more physical gasol, needs better passing,
Dre comparisons to howard arent unreal, lets just hope he doesnt develop a similar personality

So far he seems like a great kid and loves the Pistons organization. Not saying he definitely won't develop an ego, but i'd be very very surprised if he gets anywhere near the attitude level of Coward.

He's also on a team with solid young guys that he'll develop with. Howard was given the franchise with very little young help to grow with.
Dre loves moose and knight and all those guys.

T_RAPS_FOR_LIFE wrote:Can see val as a more physical gasol, needs better passing,

Val is more on the Marc Gasol level...Maybe a poor-mans Marc Gasol...Pau is too skilled offensively to be compared Val...

And Drummond is a desired big, I don't know if we could say the same about Val...Sorry bud

dVs33 wrote:

T_RAPS_FOR_LIFE wrote:Can see val as a more physical gasol, needs better passing,
Dre comparisons to howard arent unreal, lets just hope he doesnt develop a similar personality

So far he seems like a great kid and loves the Pistons organization. Not saying he definitely won't develop an ego, but i'd be very very surprised if he gets anywhere near the attitude level of Coward.

He's also on a team with solid young guys that he'll develop with. Howard was given the franchise with very little young help to grow with.
Dre loves moose and knight and all those guys.

Yeah Dwight never came off as genuine IMO.

Dwight never seemed disgruntled or bratty until maybe his 6th or 7th year. He was a smiley excited kid for a long time, probably brought a lot of good energy to the team. He got older and more calculating, turned into a star. So it goes.

Can't ignore his team situation either--the Magic looked pretty much maxed out at a 4th seed two years ago. Let's hope that we don't peak too soon in Dre's career.

MrBigShot wrote:
Will have to agree to disagree. Tristan Thompson is a role player who will rebound, play defense and finish plays. Good guy to have on your team, but not a potential star like Valanciunas is. The Gasol comparison was spot on imo.

Cavs could have had any Kyrie/Valanciunas/Drummond. That would be a ridiculous core to build around. Taking Bennett at 1 may come back to haunt them as well...

Unlike the Gasol brothers, Jonas V doesn't have anywhere near the passing game. In his prime, Pau Gasol averaged 4-5 assists a game. Id be surprised if Jonas averaged 2-3- he just doesn't have the handle or the vision. Again, hes much closer to Lopez, who was an all star last season.

Jonas, if he works out, can be a 15-17 ppg/7-9rbp/2blk guy, I think he can make atleast 1 all star game and be the 2-3rd best player on a contending team. I don't he is the type of guy who can ever be the best player on a non-lottery team. Thats not a knock on him, I like him but he's not a guy who is going to be a franchise player.

As far as Cleveland- Waiters and Bennett were bad picks IMO but I guess we have to see how it plays out.

princeofpalace wrote:Jonas, if he works out, can be a 15-17 ppg/7-9rbp/2blk guy, I think he can make atleast 1 all star game and be the 2-3rd best player on a contending team. I don't he is the type of guy who can ever be the best player on a non-lottery team. Thats not a knock on him, I like him but he's not a guy who is going to be a franchise player.

Well, he already averaged nearly those per-36 last year, when he was really raw and didn't know where to be on the court. He was at 13.5/9 with 2 blocks. And by all accounts he's much better this year, especially in the post.

You might be right that he can't be a franchise anchor, but seems way too conservative to say that his absolute best case is 17/9. Why not 20/10?

Drummond is going to be an elite rebounder, but overall I think Val is the better prospect, he's just much more well rounded and fundamental, and he's already developing the areas of his game he needs to improve.

Historically bigs like Drummond never improve their FT shooting, and rarely expand their offensive games. His body is also already fully maxed out.

Valanciunas has already shown massive improvements in his body, with room to grow still as well, and his offensive and defensive games are blossoming before our eyes.

I agree with the Brook Lopez comparison for Val, but Val will be a better rebounder. He won't be 12+ rebounder like Drummond, but he should be around 10 per 36...