Drummond Rookie Grade

[HuskyHawk]

This guy gives him an A+. I think he surprised some people. I thought he slipped way too far in the draft, and had more upside than even Davis.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Tyson Chandler has made a bazillion dollars and started on the US Olympic team, and he does one thing well on offense - finishing lobs off pick-and-rolls. Drummond already has that down at age 19.

 

[Migs]

His PER 48 minutes stats are through the roof and he's shooting 61% from the field. He's sixth in the league in dunks already and probably 1st in received oops. He's holding his own on the defensive boards as well. His play has already impacted Monroe's stats for the year, down in pts and boards and up in assists. Other teams have employed the hack-a strategy so he's becoming part of opposing team's game plans. Very solid campaign.

 

[Huskies4ever]

This guy gives him an A+. I think he surprised some people. I thought he slipped way too far in the draft, and had more upside than even Davis.

Can't wait to see him in the rookie-sophomore game (rising stars, whatever the hell they call it). He will generate a lot of excitement, that's for sure.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Other teams have employed the hack-a strategy so he's becoming part of opposing team's game plans.

I like how the hack-an-AD backfired on Doc Rivers.

 

[Kitaman]

Charlotte blew it, he was worth the risk. Fukk hindsight!

 

[Husky1964]

Two words symbolize Charlotte's draft woes----Michael Jordan.

 

[gampelcrazies]

This kid might have been one of the worst players i have ever seen. He was supposed to be the next big thing. He should have stayed for another year to work on his offense. His defense was pretty good tho.

 

[Huskieforlife]

if he was on the bobcats they would be my team

 

[Huskieforlife]

This kid might have been one of the worst players i have ever seen. He was supposed to be the next big thing. He should have stayed for another year to work on his offense. His defense was pretty good tho.

wow

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This kid might have been one of the worst players i have ever seen.

Go get some fresh air.

 

[Adios]

It really is hard to believe he dropped as far as he did. He will likely become a monster in the league. Congrats to AD. Glad he played for us, even for one year. Certainly is memorable.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

This kid might have been one of the worst players i have ever seen. He was supposed to be the next big thing. He should have stayed for another year to work on his offense. His defense was pretty good tho.

Lol what??

 

[PacificStorm]

Tyson Chandler has made a bazillion dollars and started on the US Olympic team, and he does one thing well on offense - finishing lobs off pick-and-rolls. Drummond already has that down at age 19.

On his 2nd contract, he could get 60-70 million for 4 years. Then he may help pay off Michael Bradley's college loans.

 

[PacificStorm]

Two words symbolize Charlotte's draft woes----Michael Jordan.

However, Kemba is already vindicating Michael Jordan. And that big Bitombo has shown a few flashes of star potential. If MJ could get a great 3-point shooter and add a true power inside to upgrade their overall balance , then that may fortify Kemba's interior attacks and the results should further vindicate MJ. Go Kemba, exceed Chris Paul!

 

[WhereistheDove?]

He's definitely done a heck of a lot better than I expected in his first season. I always thought that coming back for another year was in his best interest... I was wrong. Sky is the limit for him.

 

[caw]

I don't think you can blame Charlotte, or Jordan for the past two drafts. They have actually done a decent job. I still would have drafted Drummond, even trading down for him, but MKG was not a bad selection. Right now it looks like they got the 4th best prospect of the draft at #2, that's not horrible.

AD, AD, and DL would be ahead of MKG and that's it right now. Possibly Bradley Beal, but I still have MKG ahead of him.

Add in that Anthony Davis wasn't an option and neither was Damian Lillard (same age as Kemba Walker) and really it comes down to Drummond versus MKG.

They have a silly, young team with 4 players from the past two drafts seeing 109/240 minutes a night (Kemba [22] 35 MPG, MKG [19] 27 MPG, Bismark [20] 25 MPG, Taylor [23] 22 MPG).

They have the potential to get 1-3 first round picks this year. Huge draft year if the Pistons can make the playoffs and Portland is 13 or lower.

I don't give the Pistons a ton of credit for the pick, it was the obvious choice at #9. The teams that should be ragged are Washington, Cleveland, Sacramento, Golden State, and Toronto. Golden State gets some leeway for actually being a good squad and a likely playoff team in the West and for having Andrew Bogut already on the team. I can't blame them a ton. The other four are true WTH picks in Beal, Waiters, Robinson and Ross.

Beal/Waiters have put up a few decent games, but they are no Ray Allen/Dwayne Wade. Throw in the fact you have one of the best PnR PG's in the NBA in Cleveland (and easily the best young PG) and you don't think adding a great PnR big is a good idea. Add on top that Cleveland runs Varejao and Zeller at center. WTH. Waiters was just a bad pick. Beal is also pretty questionable. Similar situation to Cleveland and Waiters. Though I somewhat understand considering the McGee issue.

Robinson may have potential, but he's undersized. I guess you could argue that Cousins is the center on the team and that Drummond and Cousins wouldn't work together, but Drummond is basically a bigger/better version of Robinson, so WTH was with the Robinson pick.

Ross is a decent shooter and an athlete, but he's a 15-17 pick not a #9. Why a team like Toronto wouldn't draft Drummond at #8 is truly perplexing. At least it wasn't Austin Rivers - a true abortion of a pick, right now. Good thing Rivers is proving that Irving was a fluke when it comes to Duke players being good draft picks.

 

[caw]

This kid might have been one of the worst players i have ever seen. He was supposed to be the next big thing. He should have stayed for another year to work on his offense. His defense was pretty good tho.

Must not have watched Oriakhi. He was the guy standing next to Drummond complaining he wasn't getting the lobs Drummond was.

 

[Inyatkin]

It's got to be pretty rare for someone's first year in the NBA to go better than his first year in college.

 

[Adios]

Is it possible that Monroe's tutoring Drummond is what may have really taken him over the top?

 

[PacificStorm]

Why a team like Toronto wouldn't draft Drummond at #8 is truly perplexing.

Toronto already had a young Jonas Valanciunas and were not very, very sure if Drummond's upside would exceed his by much. But Andre definitely would have been cheaper deal for Toronto although Drummond is a much better fit at Detroit than Toronto because Monroe is a mentor for him there.

 

[aceboon]

Is it possible that Monroe's tutoring Drummond is what may have really taken him over the top?

While Monroe could show him how to approach the game and possibly practice habits(I have no idea on this obviously, just speculating), I'm not exactly sure what Monroe would have to do with his performance on the court, they play nothing like each other. Monroe is far from a finished product himself, he's way too passive at times, during their collapse against the Bulls the other day he was passing up wide open shots left and right.

 

[caw]

Toronto already had a young Jonas Valanciunas and were not very, very sure if Drummond's upside would exceed his by much. But Andre definitely would have been cheaper deal for Toronto although Drummond is a much better fit at Detroit than Toronto because Monroe is a mentor for him there.

I know.

Two things about Toronto: 1) Jonas is a rookie also and 2) they drafted Ross.

Worst case, draft Drummond and trade him. Guys like Ross are a dime a dozen. Heck you could probably draft Drummond and trade him for Ross that night. You probably get a second rounder or maybe even a future first.

I'm not saying Toronto would have been a better situation for Drummond. I'm saying it would have been a better choice for Toronto, so the mentoring he is getting in Detroit doesn't really matter.

 

[aceboon]

I don't think you can blame Charlotte, or Jordan for the past two drafts. They have actually done a decent job. I still would have drafted Drummond, even trading down for him, but MKG was not a bad selection. Right now it looks like they got the 4th best prospect of the draft at #2, that's not horrible.

AD, AD, and DL would be ahead of MKG and that's it right now. Possibly Bradley Beal, but I still have MKG ahead of him.

Add in that Anthony Davis wasn't an option and neither was Damian Lillard (same age as Kemba Walker) and really it comes down to Drummond versus MKG.

They have a silly, young team with 4 players from the past two drafts seeing 109/240 minutes a night (Kemba [22] 35 MPG, MKG [19] 27 MPG, Bismark [20] 25 MPG, Taylor [23] 22 MPG).

They have the potential to get 1-3 first round picks this year. Huge draft year if the Pistons can make the playoffs and Portland is 13 or lower.

I don't give the Pistons a ton of credit for the pick, it was the obvious choice at #9. The teams that should be ragged are Washington, Cleveland, Sacramento, Golden State, and Toronto. Golden State gets some leeway for actually being a good squad and a likely playoff team in the West and for having Andrew Bogut already on the team. I can't blame them a ton. The other four are true WTH picks in Beal, Waiters, Robinson and Ross.

Beal/Waiters have put up a few decent games, but they are no Ray Allen/Dwayne Wade. Throw in the fact you have one of the best PnR PG's in the NBA in Cleveland (and easily the best young PG) and you don't think adding a great PnR big is a good idea. Add on top that Cleveland runs Varejao and Zeller at center. WTH. Waiters was just a bad pick. Beal is also pretty questionable. Similar situation to Cleveland and Waiters. Though I somewhat understand considering the McGee issue.

Robinson may have potential, but he's undersized. I guess you could argue that Cousins is the center on the team and that Drummond and Cousins wouldn't work together, but Drummond is basically a bigger/better version of Robinson, so WTH was with the Robinson pick.

Ross is a decent shooter and an athlete, but he's a 15-17 pick not a #9. Why a team like Toronto wouldn't draft Drummond at #8 is truly perplexing. At least it wasn't Austin Rivers - a true abortion of a pick, right now. Good thing Rivers is proving that Irving was a fluke when it comes to Duke players being good draft picks.

Robinson reportedly dominated Drummond in a pre-draft workout together, alot of stuff gets thrown out around draft time but that was the word. Robinson seems to be fitting the classic tweener mold, not really big enough to overpower guys in the post like he did in college and not skilled enough to take guys to the perimeter. Plus, while watching him dude needs to realize he's a rookie and no longer the #1 option like at KU. I see him calling for the ball when he doesn't even have good post position, then when he does get the ball his post moves are unrefined and he gets stuffed regularly, that is why his FG % is so low. You're a not so good rookie, go set a screen somewhere and be an energy player while trying to find your niche as an NBA player.

 

[Rico444]

This kid might have been one of the worst players i have ever seen. He was supposed to be the next big thing. He should have stayed for another year to work on his offense. His defense was pretty good tho.

He's one of the top 3 rookies in the NBA...but yeah, he probably should have stayed and developed with a college team that couldn't play in the NCAAs. Good call.