Andre Drummond wants to be leader of Detroit Pistons

[MotownMadness]

Fresh off returning from Spain as a member of Team USA during the FIBA World Cup, Andre Drummond says he hasn’t slept much and is ready top get back in the gym after seeing how well USA Basketball played together as a team.

“It’s cool, watching guys come in, from being the leader on their team, to put it aside for one common goal,” Drummond stated. “It hit home; why can’t we do that where I’m at? I feel like it should happen, I’ll make sure it happens. Somebody’s gotta do it,” Andre Drummond said. “I feel like I’ve done enough with this team that I have the green light to lead this team.”

While you’d like to think somebody like Josh Smith would take on such a role given he’s the biggest name, his game doesn’t really reflect him being a leader. Drummond, who many felt was too raw for the NBA coming out of college has seemingly taken the role upon himself which is only good news for the Detroit Pistons as he’s committed to the franchise.

It’s a welcome change after an offseason which saw Greg Monroe all but give up on the team.

[DBC10]

Last time we had Josh be the leader, we literally couldn't play watchable basketball.

Thank God Dre is stepping up.

[Kilo]

Will teammates accept him as a leader is another thing. He's still the youngest player on the team afterall and hasn't carried the team or nothing on the court to command respect in that aspect. The roster turn over will help in this regard, guys who didn't see Dre as a rookie.

[Spider156]

Here's the best part. Dre is gonna get easy baskets from SVG writing him plays that he's done in the past with Howard and Shaq. I'm actually really excited about that. We've seen Drummond and Bynum have a really nice alley-oop collaboration.

[DetroitSho]

Fresh off returning from Spain as a member of Team USA during the FIBA World Cup, Andre Drummond says he hasn’t slept much and is ready top get back in the gym after seeing how well USA Basketball played together as a team.

“It’s cool, watching guys come in, from being the leader on their team, to put it aside for one common goal,” Drummond stated. “It hit home; why can’t we do that where I’m at? I feel like it should happen, I’ll make sure it happens. Somebody’s gotta do it,” Andre Drummond said. “I feel like I’ve done enough with this team that I have the green light to lead this team.”

While you’d like to think somebody like Josh Smith would take on such a role given he’s the biggest name, his game doesn’t really reflect him being a leader. Drummond, who many felt was too raw for the NBA coming out of college has seemingly taken the role upon himself which is only good news for the Detroit Pistons as he’s committed to the franchise.

It’s a welcome change after an offseason which saw Greg Monroe all but give up on the team.

Greg Monroe gave up on the team? Wow I didn't know that.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[MotownMadness]

Fresh off returning from Spain as a member of Team USA during the FIBA World Cup, Andre Drummond says he hasn’t slept much and is ready top get back in the gym after seeing how well USA Basketball played together as a team.

“It’s cool, watching guys come in, from being the leader on their team, to put it aside for one common goal,” Drummond stated. “It hit home; why can’t we do that where I’m at? I feel like it should happen, I’ll make sure it happens. Somebody’s gotta do it,” Andre Drummond said. “I feel like I’ve done enough with this team that I have the green light to lead this team.”

While you’d like to think somebody like Josh Smith would take on such a role given he’s the biggest name, his game doesn’t really reflect him being a leader. Drummond, who many felt was too raw for the NBA coming out of college has seemingly taken the role upon himself which is only good news for the Detroit Pistons as he’s committed to the franchise.

It’s a welcome change after an offseason which saw Greg Monroe all but give up on the team.

Greg Monroe gave up on the team? Wow I didn't know that.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Where have you been?

[DetroitSho]

Fresh off returning from Spain as a member of Team USA during the FIBA World Cup, Andre Drummond says he hasn’t slept much and is ready top get back in the gym after seeing how well USA Basketball played together as a team.

“It’s cool, watching guys come in, from being the leader on their team, to put it aside for one common goal,” Drummond stated. “It hit home; why can’t we do that where I’m at? I feel like it should happen, I’ll make sure it happens. Somebody’s gotta do it,” Andre Drummond said. “I feel like I’ve done enough with this team that I have the green light to lead this team.”

While you’d like to think somebody like Josh Smith would take on such a role given he’s the biggest name, his game doesn’t really reflect him being a leader. Drummond, who many felt was too raw for the NBA coming out of college has seemingly taken the role upon himself which is only good news for the Detroit Pistons as he’s committed to the franchise.

It’s a welcome change after an offseason which saw Greg Monroe all but give up on the team.

Greg Monroe gave up on the team? Wow I didn't know that.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Where have you been?

In reality, where being hesitant about committing to an unstable environment is at the very least, understandable. As opposed to wherever the hell most others have been, where doing the same automatically makes you a loser deserving of ridicule and scorn.

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[MotownMadness]

Greg Monroe gave up on the team? Wow I didn't know that.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Where have you been?

In reality, where being hesitant about committing to an unstable environment is at the very least, understandable. As opposed to wherever the hell most others have been, where doing the same automatically makes you a loser deserving of ridicule and scorn.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

K

[tmorgan]

Monroe has pretty much given up on the Pistons, yes. It doesn't make him a villain -- at least not to me. It's his choice and his right to leave, take the QO, whatever. That doesn't mean we have to be happy about it, does it?

He's likely moving on soon. We're moving on as well.

There is a middle position here, you know, and some of us are actually there. I dislike the lack of loyalty and respect that it's his decision.

(of course, it's much easier for me, because if he had re-signed on a reasonable deal, I'd be looking to trade him ASAP)

[detroitKG]

Greg Monroe gave up on the team? Wow I didn't know that.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Where have you been?

In reality, where being hesitant about committing to an unstable environment is at the very least, understandable. As opposed to wherever the hell most others have been, where doing the same automatically makes you a loser deserving of ridicule and scorn.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using RealGM Forums mobile app

How dare that guy try to better his and his families situation for the long term...Eff that guy lol

[epheisey]

Monroe has pretty much given up on the Pistons, yes. It doesn't make him a villain -- at least not to me. It's his choice and his right to leave, take the QO, whatever. That doesn't mean we have to be happy about it, does it?

He's likely moving on soon. We're moving on as well.

There is a middle position here, you know, and some of us are actually there. I dislike the lack of loyalty and respect that it's his decision.

(of course, it's much easier for me, because if he had re-signed on a reasonable deal, I'd be looking to trade him ASAP)

BUTTTT he hurt my feeeeelingss.

[DetroitSho]

Monroe has pretty much given up on the Pistons, yes. It doesn't make him a villain -- at least not to me. It's his choice and his right to leave, take the QO, whatever. That doesn't mean we have to be happy about it, does it?

He's likely moving on soon. We're moving on as well.

There is a middle position here, you know, and some of us are actually there. I dislike the lack of loyalty and respect that it's his decision.

(of course, it's much easier for me, because if he had re-signed on a reasonable deal, I'd be looking to trade him ASAP)

Dude I appreciate your honesty. With that said, where's the disloyalty on Monroe's behalf? I mean, you said it yourself, he signs a reasonable deal and you trade him. Let's recap: 1. He signs for less than he would really like to but does so to be loyal. 2. You trade him immediately to somewhere he might not want to be. 3. He's stuck somewhere for 4-5 years he doesn't want to be after you played the okey doke on him. I'm pretty sure he just avoided all that by signing the QO. Now try to blame him.

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[kurtis48239]

Iam just upset that we couldnt use him in a trade to get a sf or another big.To bad we couldnt have done a deal with chi to bring gibson here to be our 3rd big,I love that guys game and its a tragedy that hes going to be behind noah and gasol when he should at the very least be starting at pf.He would definitly win out over smith for the pf position and it would suck paying smith all that money to be a backup,but after this year smith contract is alitlle easier to swallow for other teams.Gibson is basicly what fans of both moose and smith wish they were.

dre,monroe,smith < dre,gibson,smith

[ImHeisenberg]

Yeah, and he's also been working on his free throws all summer too. I'm going to be patient and wait to see his words in action before I shower any praise.

[DTP]

I personally would like to see him mature up first before trying to claim himself as some leader. He has all the potential in the world, I understand that....but mentally, dude is frustrating to watch at times. I'm hoping he's held accountable this season and the excuse of he's so young isn't the scapegoat anymore.

[tmorgan]

Monroe has pretty much given up on the Pistons, yes. It doesn't make him a villain -- at least not to me. It's his choice and his right to leave, take the QO, whatever. That doesn't mean we have to be happy about it, does it?

He's likely moving on soon. We're moving on as well.

There is a middle position here, you know, and some of us are actually there. I dislike the lack of loyalty and respect that it's his decision.

(of course, it's much easier for me, because if he had re-signed on a reasonable deal, I'd be looking to trade him ASAP)

Dude I appreciate your honesty. With that said, where's the disloyalty on Monroe's behalf? I mean, you said it yourself, he signs a reasonable deal and you trade him. Let's recap: 1. He signs for less than he would really like to but does so to be loyal. 2. You trade him immediately to somewhere he might not want to be. 3. He's stuck somewhere for 4-5 years he doesn't want to be after you played the okey doke on him. I'm pretty sure he just avoided all that by signing the QO. Now try to blame him.

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Except I didn't blame him, so you have no point.

My actions would be kinda ruthless. I admit that. Monroe and/or his agent were smart enough to see this exact scenario as a distinct possibility and got out of it. I don't like it, but it's smart, if risky, assuming he doesn't want to be in DET and wants to choose his next team.

Of course, I'm *not* the actual GM/president, and Stan apparently wanted him here. That's the disloyalty of which I speak. He bailed on the Pistons, plain and simple. Did he have good reasons? Of course he did.

[DocRI]

Dear God, we've morphed from every thread degenerating into "What do you think / want to happen with Monroe?" to "This is how what happened with Monroe made me feel!"

Back on topic, young or not, why shouldn't Dre be the leader of this team? Does anyone else on our roster have Team USA experience? He's absolutely right to take initiative and bring what he learned while playing with the best players and coaches in the world home to HIS team and insist his teammates follow his lead. The gold medal around his neck says they should listen to him, and I'm certain SVG will encourage this across the board (and not let anyone stand in Drummond's way of maturing and ascending to "alpha dog" status).

Bottom line — if we want Dre to be "the man" here, then he's gotta stand up and take that mantle, 'cuz it doesn't work if it's just handed to you. This is a huge step towards that.

[epheisey]

Being a leader is something you either are, or you aren't. I don't buy into being "too young" or too anything really as a reason someone shouldn't be a leader. Perhaps FIBA uncovered some leadership qualities that Dre hasn't been showcasing yet, but he hasn't come across to me as having that leadership mentality and personality, YET. Unfortunately, I can't say any of the players on the Pistons have demonstrated much in the way of being a leader, which I think is why Caron Butler was brought in.

I love Drummond, and I'd love to see the face of the franchise also be the leader in the locker room. Maybe it took him gaining a little confidence to really come out of his shell and really feel like he's earned such a spot on the team.

[tmorgan]

My bad, back on topic --

I hope Andre does step up and be a leader, and I hope he gets the support of Butler and anyone else that fashions themselves a leader-type as well. I also hope knuckleheads like Smith and Jennings don't get in his way.

[Redeemed]

Drummond probably learned a TON from his USA Basketball experience. Part of what he learned very likely included what it took to be a professional and what it took to lead. With the calibur of coaches and players he was around, it isn't a stretch to say he saw things that he did not see among the vets on his team.

He's ready to be a leader, because there's a void in that spot. Butler & Meeks will come in with helpful nuggets of wisdom to invest in team culture. This season will be a huge shift. I'm trying not to be REALLY optimistic, but I just can't help it. With what we have in place I believe there's grounds for expecting far more than what we've gotten in the last 5 years.