Drummond for Lillard??

[Clarity]

Jodi nailed it, no no no

[vege]

[Blkbrd671]

Ya, hell no!. There's not going to be many players like Dre in the next decade, i think we'll see at least 5-6 more lillards.

[HotelVitale]

I disagree with the reasons people are giving here, but I would still say no to the trade. It doesn't matter too much how rare a size or skill set is, it only matters how much player X can help you win games. Lillard's skills--handling, shooting, good decision-making--are more common than Drummond's but you don't need a super athletic 6'11 280 guy to win championships. You can just as easily win them with smart and skilled 6'3 point guards as key players. And you can easily win them without either (like the last 5 champions have).

The problem is that Lillard doesn't figure to be as good or make as much of an impact as Drum. Lillard is pretty much at his full potential now; he put something ridiculous like 19/6 this year but his ceiling isn't much higher--he played a ton of minutes, used a ton of possessions, and doesn't have any major parts of his game to improve on. He's just a good but not great version of the smart scoring PG.

But if he were a better, higher-ceiling version of the same thing, I don't think the rarity argument would be a big deal. Derrick Rose for instance has the same basic skillset but he's a much better, more athletic and dynamic than Lillard. Setting aside his injury, if the Bulls offered the 20 year-old version of Rose for the current version of Drummond, would you take it?

[Cowology]

^No. I'll still take the bigman, defensive anchor with massive potential over 20 yr old Rose. Outside of LeBron & Durant I'm not sure anything is going to tempt me. That's how good I think he's going to be.

[HotelVitale]

^No. I'll still take the bigman, defensive anchor with massive potential over 20 yr old Rose. Outside of LeBron & Durant I'm not sure anything is going to tempt me. That's how good I think he's going to be.

I hear that, but that only makes sense if you're betting he'll be as good as or better than D12. On the other hand, if you think he's going to be only 70-80% of D12 (say, 15/11 with two blocks and great but not all-time great help defense), then Rose is the more valuable player. I think people are confusing skillsets with results--Drummond's particular skillset of size, jumping, rebounding, etc might be rare but the results that come from applying it to a game situation (good help D, second chance points, etc) are not. Lots of players get you those results, so Drummond's worth comes from how well he does them relative to other players.

Als worth noting that it's always just as important to be as good as your opponent at one thing as it is to be better than them at something else. Just because there are lots of elite point guards doesn't mean it's not as valuable to have one as is having a great 4/5. At this very moment, I'd roll with CP3 and DeAndre Jordan over Steve Blake and D12, and Westbrook/Perkins or Curry/Ezeli over BK/Drummond. Drum and D12 are rarer skillsets but they're just not as good as the other guys overall.

[Cowology]

I am betting he'll be better than Dwight. Possibly this coming season. I currently rate his impact on the game much higher than you do and think he has a tremendous ceiling. I see him as a true franchise/superstar caliber player that will be top 5 in the league and best at his position.

[Fahrenhait]

Neither team would do this. Drummond's upside is off the charts, it will still be a couple of seasons before Detroit gets anywhere so he has all the time in the world right now. Lilliard is exactly what Portland needed to pair with Aldridge, they are looking to be good right now.

[MrBigShot]

I disagree with the reasons people are giving here, but I would still say no to the trade. It doesn't matter too much how rare a size or skill set is, it only matters how much player X can help you win games. Lillard's skills--handling, shooting, good decision-making--are more common than Drummond's but you don't need a super athletic 6'11 280 guy to win championships. You can just as easily win them with smart and skilled 6'3 point guards as key players. And you can easily win them without either (like the last 5 champions have).

The problem is that Lillard doesn't figure to be as good or make as much of an impact as Drum. Lillard is pretty much at his full potential now; he put something ridiculous like 19/6 this year but his ceiling isn't much higher--he played a ton of minutes, used a ton of possessions, and doesn't have any major parts of his game to improve on. He's just a good but not great version of the smart scoring PG.

But if he were a better, higher-ceiling version of the same thing, I don't think the rarity argument would be a big deal. Derrick Rose for instance has the same basic skillset but he's a much better, more athletic and dynamic than Lillard. Setting aside his injury, if the Bulls offered the 20 year-old version of Rose for the current version of Drummond, would you take it?

Dominant bigmen can always offer more than dominant PG. Magic Johnson was a bit of an exception, but 6'9 PGs with all time great court vision don't come along often.

[Shoopy]

There are fifty Lillards for every one Drummond. Laughable.

[E-Z]

Not a chance.

Drummond may be a once in a decade type of player for Detroit.

I can't say the same for Lilliard. I'm tired of tiny back courts.