Believe it or not, this is already 25-year-old Andre Drummond’s seventh NBA season.
It seems like it was yesterday that the Detroit Pistons selected the former University of Connecticut prospect ninth overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. At that time, Drummond’s strengths were clear: at a tick under seven feet tall, he was an athletic freak and stellar rebounder. His weaknesses were also clear-cut: he was limited offensively and was a terrible free throw shooter. Then-UConn coach Jim Calhoun kept him off the floor late in games at times and limited his minutes overall due to his lack of development on that end of the floor.
In his one-and-done season at UConn, he averaged 10.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 28.4 minutes over 34 games, shot 53.8 percent from the field and an hysterically-awful 29.5 percent from the charity stripe.
As a pro, he became exactly what he projected to be: an effortlessly-amazing rebounder with offensive deficiencies away from the rim. Nonetheless, the Pistons awarded him with a five-year extension worth just over $127 million after his 2015-2016 campaign in which he posted 16.2 points and an NBA-best 14.2 boards per game.
But, the extension didn’t exactly inspire him to improve off of his career year.
After earning his riches, Drummond immediately regressed to average 13.6 points and 13.8 rebounds while logging just 29.7 minutes per contest in 2016-2017. Over the last two seasons, his offensive numbers look like they improved, but digging into them, it’s obvious what really happened. The career 44.0 percent free throw shooter slightly improved in that regard, converting a career-high 60.5 percent of his attempts last season and 57.3 percent this season.
That alone allowed his scoring average to improve to 15.0 last year and to a career-high 17.4 this year (along with the fact that he’s taking over two more field goal attempts per game this season). His 15.1 rebounds per contest this year suggests that he’s one of the best centers in the NBA.
But, it’s clear that Drummond has not made any notable improvements to his game since breaking into the league. These are his field goal percentages over his last five seasons: 51.4, 52.1, 53.0, 52.9 and 52.9.
While he has arguably been the best rebounder in the league over that time, Drummond’s presence as a “traditional” low-post big hasn’t translated to today’s perimeter-oriented style of play that teams are adopting across the league.
The Pistons have been hovering around .500 this season and have a solid chance to make the playoffs (they’re currently the sixth seed in the East), but Detroit has made the postseason in just one of Drummond’s first six seasons. Whether or not the center is the main impediment for that is impossible to prove, but moving forward, a significant chunk of Detroit’s salary cap will be spent on two players — Drummond and frontcourt mate Blake Griffin.
The advanced numbers don’t paint a pretty picture for Drummond. He ranks 21st among qualified NBA centers in offensive rating (110.0) and he hasn’t been effective on the other end of the court either, ranking 55th of 95 total centers in defensive rating (107.5). His playmaking skills out of the post are also non-existent, as he ranks 82nd out of 95 in terms of assist percentage. He holds an effective field goal percentage of 53.1 (60th) and true shooting percentage of 54.8 (71st).
Therefore, it’s easy to find data to prove his inefficiency. What allows him to average a double-double is his 33.0 minutes of playing time and a 23.1 percent usage rate (12th among qualified centers).
The Pistons have gone 230-292 with Drummond on the court throughout his career. Although he has made small strides in the free throw department, he has essentially been the same player over the past five seasons.
As seen in many previous situations, most NBA players are talented enough to put up numbers when they’re given significant playing time and are thrust into high-usage roles. (Remember Linsanity? That was fun.) On the surface, Drummond’s numbers and double-double presence suggests that he’s a dominant player at both ends of the floor. But, his inability to do anything but dunk or play above the rim on offense has not only limited his potential, but the team’s as well.
Drummond’s impact on the glass is undeniable and his obvious athleticism lends itself well to that. But, his inability to do anything else effectively or efficiently is an issue for someone who is making over $25 million this season and another $55 million over the next two.
Due to his one-dimensional style of play, a player like Drummond is seemingly replaceable. For example, current NBA reserves like Willy Hernangomez, Enes Kanter, Joakim Noah (all of whom have positional rebounding rates in the top 20) could probably replicate or improve upon Drummond’s numbers on both ends of the floor if given the opportunity.
It’d be a different story if Drummond fully committed himself defensively and emerged as a dominant rim protector like DeAndre Jordan was for a stretch of his career, but that simply hasn’t happened. Instead, the Pistons are stuck with an inefficient and rich double-double machine with little to no presumed upside from this point on.
Drummond could use the upcoming offseason to develop some low-post moves, a new free throw shooting motion or a mid-range jump shot that allows him to face up and become more of a threat offensively. But, judging by his past, there’s no reason to assume that’ll happen.
Follow Us
Subscribe