Conspicuously absent from the fourth quarter and overtime of the Detroit Pistons' 117-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday was the league's leading rebounder, Andre Drummond. Head coach Dwane Casey essentially chalked it up to tough love in the immediate aftermath, before expounding further upon his point Tuesday:

“We all have to decide what's important, and if it's important to compete,” Casey said. “Not only just Andre. It's everybody.”

Without Drummond available for the Pistons, the duo of Sekou Doumbouya and Christian Wood were featured prominently in the frontcourt. Drummond still managed to log a double-double despite playing just 22 minutes in that game, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

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The timing of the benching and criticism from Casey comes at a crucial time for the Detroit franchise. The loss Monday dropped them to 14-27 on the year, five and a half games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. After essentially bringing back the same squad as last season — plus the addition of Derrick Rose — the Pistons are in danger of missing the postseason for the third time in the last four years.

While Drummond enters play Tuesday leading the league with an average of 15.7 rebounds per game, his time with the organization appears to have entered its inflection point. He has a player option on his deal for the 2020-21 season, but he's likely to decline it. The big man is likely to command a significant contract on the open market should he choose to bypass the additional year. With that in mind, the Pistons have reportedly been open to moving their star, and have engaged with several teams. Less than a month before the trade deadline, Drummond has apparently been benched for a general lack of effort.