ny post comments

[sledog]

Detroit Pistons

Andre Drummond (9): He's so talented, so physically gifted, but Joe Dumars needed more of a sure thing. Drummond is a nice kid -- too nice. He doesn't play with much intensity, hasn't developed any low-post moves and has a mediocre basketball IQ. I hate to kill this pick because, again, Drummond is a high-character kid. But this was a major risk, even at number nine.


GRADE: D+

Houston Rockets

Jeremy Lamb (12): Kevin Martin bristled with Kevin McHale, and could be on his way out. If the Rockets are keeping their picks including Lamb, then they got an athletic two who can run the lane. He might have been there later, and there may have been more daring picks to take. Not bad, though, by any means.

 

[aceboon]

And what would that sure thing have been? In the draft you have to swing for the fences and picking Drummond is exactly that. How do you pass on a player with arguably the most potential in the draft @ #9? It's not like the Pistons passed on Anthony Davis and took Drummond.

 

[caw]

Detroit Pistons

Andre Drummond (9): He's so talented, so physically gifted, but Joe Dumars needed more of a sure thing. Drummond is a nice kid -- too nice. He doesn't play with much intensity, hasn't developed any low-post moves and has a mediocre basketball IQ. I hate to kill this pick because, again, Drummond is a high-character kid. But this was a major risk, even at number nine.


GRADE: D+

Houston Rockets

Jeremy Lamb (12): Kevin Martin bristled with Kevin McHale, and could be on his way out. If the Rockets are keeping their picks including Lamb, then they got an athletic two who can run the lane. He might have been there later, and there may have been more daring picks to take. Not bad, though, by any means.

Fairly accurate descriptions, though I do disagree with the final analysis for both.

#9 for Drummond is a very fair place to pick him. He can't even really bust from that position, if he sucks, it's a #9 not a top 5 and there weren't many behind him that would justify a #9. If he explodes he is quite literally Amare Stoudemire (also #9).

Lamb is a steal at #12, especially in a draft where Dion Waiters is #4 and Austin Rivers is #10, let alone Terrence Ross @ #8. Lamb slid but he wasn't sliding further, Houston might have gotten him at the original #14, but the Suns could very well have taken him at #13.

 

[8893]

Detroit Pistons

Andre Drummond (9): He's so talented, so physically gifted, but Joe Dumars needed more of a sure thing. Drummond is a nice kid -- too nice. He doesn't play with much intensity, hasn't developed any low-post moves and has a mediocre basketball IQ. I hate to kill this pick because, again, Drummond is a high-character kid. But this was a major risk, even at number nine.


GRADE: D+

Yeah, I saw that this morning and wondered who, other than Davis, was not a major risk in this draft? Every other player had some issue that could cause people to question the pick. The bottom line is we won't know for most of these players until around 3-5 years. I have the same reservations about Andre as most people do, but I struggle to see how picking him at nine was a major risk. IMO, there was a bigger risk in not picking him in that spot. Certainly a better risk at nine than Thabeet was at three.

 

[nomar]

Anybody who thinks the Pistons, at 9, shouldn't have taken Drummond is smoking crack. At a certain point you can't pass on a talent like Andre.

He may turn out to be nothing but he may turn out to be the 2nd best player in the draft -- and there are only a handful of guys who you can say that about.

 

[upstater]

Pistons fans and Detroit writers seem ecstatic with the selection of Drummond.

Rockets fans and Houston writers are totally underwhelmed with the selection of Lamb. They wanted tos end a package of picks to trade up. For whom? I have no idea.

 

[Danzz]

Anybody who thinks the Pistons, at 9, shouldn't have taken Drummond is smoking crack. At a certain point you can't pass on a talent like Andre.

He may turn out to be nothing but he may turn out to be the 2nd best player in the draft -- and there are only a handful of guys who you can say that about.

All true but any team drafting Drummond is rolling the dice and he is a huge gamble to take with the #1 pick. I'm not convinced Drummond will ever be a star in the NBA and it doesn't have anything to do with skills. He will eventually be more than a shot blocker/dunker who can run the floor.I question his heart and his intensity.
He just seems like a player who was always the biggest, strongest and most athletic on the court. Things came easy for him but there will be nothing easy now. Andre is a nice kid who has to get meaner.

 

[caw]

All true but any team drafting Drummond is rolling the dice and he is a huge gamble to take with the #1 pick. I'm not convinced Drummond will ever be a star in the NBA and it doesn't have anything to do with skills. He will eventually be more than a shot blocker/dunker who can run the floor.I question his heart and his intensity.
He just seems like a player who was always the biggest, strongest and most athletic on the court. Things came easy for him but there will be nothing easy now. Andre is a nice kid who has to get meaner.

Yes, but what players aren't a huge gamble past the top 1-5? How many stars are their past that?

 

[nomar]

Yeah, it's a simple cost-benefit analysis. At #1, you may not want to roll the dice on a guy like Drummond unless the draft is very, very thin. (Like the Kenyon Martin and Kandy Man drafts.) This draft was quite deep, actually. So down Andre went.

But at #9, nobody's expecting a Hall of Famer. Nobody drafted at #9 goes on the list of all-time busts. Thabeet at #2 - yup. Andre at #9 - nope.

The benefit far outweighed the cost (i.e., the damage to Dumars' reputation) here - no brainer.

 

[tykurez]

Waiters at 4 is a little high, but if you watched him at all last year you knew he was going to have success in the league. Kid can flat out score and he has good size. Honestly not surprised he was taken ahead of Lamb (and I think Lamb can be successful in the NBA)

 

[Fishy]

Waiters at #4 is the kind of move that gets coaches and general managers fired.

His upside is Gilbert Arenas. His downside is also Gilbert Arenas.

 

[caw]

In a normal draft I would agree about Waiters being a bad pick. On a different team, I would agree about Waiters being a bad pick.

I actually love that pick for Cleveland. Do I think #4 is high? Yes. Do I think he fits in very well with that team? Yes. If they couldn't trade down to the 6-7 spot, it's a solid pick.

He just fits (on paper) with Irving. Waiters is still a solid 6'4, Irving is a solid 6'3 (both in shoes), that is a decent size for an NBA backcourt. Irving shot a pretty solid 40% from three last year, so even if Waiters doesn't have NBA range, he should be a very nice complementary slasher next to Irving.

I don't know who else they would have drafted at #4? They have Thompson so Robinson makes no sense. Ditto Lilliard (Irving). Barnes would have been a good pickup, but he's no guarantee. Ross is very similar to Waiters, though a bit taller. Drummond would have been an OK pick, but they obviously were scared about his bust potential. Rivers (puke). etc.

If Washington was picking at #4 and took Waiters, I would have laughed, ditto for Sacramento. However, I really like him in the backcourt with Irving.

 

[aceboon]

Waiters @ is 4 is surprising considering the Cavs didn't work him out or interview him. If your considered can't miss then yea a workout isn't really necessary but for a guy that was considered to go in the teens just a few weeks ago?? Seems to me that the Cavs were planning on taking MKG if they couldn't move up to get Beal, and scrambled once the Bobcats took him.

 

[caw]

I just don't see any better picks (aside from possibly Drummond) than Waiters at #4 for the Cavs.

 

[Huskies4ever]

I just don't see any better picks (aside from possibly Drummond) than Waiters at #4 for the Cavs.

I dunno how good the chemistry will be between Irving and Waiters. They are two guys who need the ball. One will have to defer to the other. Cleveland is Irving's team. Hopefully for them, Waiters doesn't mind playing second fiddle.

 

[uconnfan68]

Detroit Pistons

Andre Drummond (9): He's so talented, so physically gifted, but Joe Dumars needed more of a sure thing. Drummond is a nice kid -- too nice. He doesn't play with much intensity, hasn't developed any low-post moves and has a mediocre basketball IQ. I hate to kill this pick because, again, Drummond is a high-character kid. But this was a major risk, even at number nine.

#1. he's only 18.
#2. he seems like he grew 2" in the last year (measured 6'11.75" without shoes)
#3. He lost 20# of baby fat
#4. he's still only 18
-- bottom line... more upside than any player in the draft, downside is he is very raw, but he's ONLY 18!

GRADE: D+

Houston Rockets

Jeremy Lamb (12): Kevin Martin bristled with Kevin McHale, and could be on his way out. If the Rockets are keeping their picks including Lamb, then they got an athletic two who can run the lane. He might have been there later, and there may have been more daring picks to take. Not bad, though, by any means.

-- Another potential steal in the draft. Did he have a bullet in his leg too?

 

[HuskyFan32]

Anybody who thinks the Pistons, at 9, shouldn't have taken Drummond is smoking crack. At a certain point you can't pass on a talent like Andre.

He may turn out to be nothing but he may turn out to be the 2nd best player in the draft -- and there are only a handful of guys who you can say that about.

He may end up being the best player in the draft

 

[champs99and04]

I came away from the draft Thursday night thinking a lot of things, but possibly the most pressing was, “How the hell did THAT kid slip to #9”? That kid, of course, was Andre Drummond, the jaw-dropping talent out of Connecticut who has been inexplicably disregarded and scoffed at over the months leading up to the draft. You wouldn’t take Drummond in the top three, because Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, and Beal are similar talents with much less risk. But #9? Really, I understand the apprehension, because the kid is still learning how to play the game, but you’re telling me a four year player out of the Big Sky Conference was a better pick than the most athletically and physically imposing prospect in eight years? This is a kid with a 7’5 wingspan and a 40 inch vertical leap. The NBA Draft, when it comes down to it, is a simple game of percentages. Regardless of how skeptical you are in terms of Drummond’s overall makeup and lack of skill, it seems illogical to pass over somebody who has the physical gifts to become the best center in the game.
If you’re Detroit, you couldn’t be happier. This was a team that desperately needed a large, athletic center to pair with the skilled Greg Monroe. For Drummond, the most talented player in the draft next to Anthony Davis, to drop all the way to #9, had to have been like a gift from God. Now Monroe can play the high post, make 17 footers, hit cutters flashing across the lane, drop step to the basket, and allow Drummond to do the dirty work inside. He’ll bang bodies, block shots, hit the offensive glass, and at the very least present a wide target in the middle of the lane. He’s quick enough to guard power forwards, mobile enough to guard the pick and roll, and strong enough to guard centers. There is very little reason to think Drummond, given the fact that he’s a willing learner, will not become an excellent defender in the middle of the Detroit defense for years to come. Teach the man a drop step, a hook shot, and the proper way to shoot, and you have Dwight Howard. Bing, bang, boom.
One last thing on Drummond: The kid doesn’t turn 19 years old until August. Give me the list of all the seven footers who have displayed a mastery of the position at that age, because I’m sure it will be a short one. Thomas Robinson, who was selected ahead of Drummond, is a grown man by comparison, having spent three years in college; two of them learning behind future lottery picks Marcus and Markieff Morris. The gap in basketball experience between the two is enormous. All this means is that we shouldn’t make broad conclusions based on the predictably inconsistent results of an 18-year-old kid playing in the Big East, a Conference generally consisting of 22-23 year old men. The sky is the limit for Andre Drummond, and anybody who thinks he lacks the desire to be great just doesn’t know him well enough. Assertiveness can be taught, his package of riches cannot be.

 

[61cygni]

I thought he measured 33" for his vertical?

 

[TheChamps990411]

i see mkg as a poor mans lebron james and if he were there cleveland would have taken him without a doubt! waiters had me scratching my head but time will tell. i will be very interes