Andre Drummond (Photo : Al Bello | Getty Images Sport)
The Detroit Pistons are fortunate to have Andre Drummond. He is almost as good as DeMarcus Cousins without the issues.
Cousins has already been suspended due to accumulating more than 16 technical fouls this season. Then there are his publicized outbursts on the court and the locker room, not to mention social media. This is why, even if he is the best center in the league, there is always the possibility of trading him.
Andre Drummond has not had those tantrums and that's also why no one even bothers to talk about his restricted free agency. It is widely assumed that GM/head Coach Stan Van Gundy will offer the max and any attempt to pry him from Motor City is a waste of time.
Will there be any deviation from that narrative? Drummond has been inhuman when the season started and remained consistent through the season: Over 17 points and 16 rebounds, this is a center that's worth the max, and he's only 22 years old.
The problem is that there is a record that he can actually break-worst free throw percentage in a season at 35%. This has led Stan Van Gundy to make some hard decisions, like benching who was supposed to be his best player in the fourth quarter, as detailed by MLive.
"Score, time of the game and the whole thing," go into it, Van Gundy said. "But tonight he was 1 for 10. He made the decision easy tonight. It's not like he was 5 for 10 or anything else. In a close game like that, back and forth, we can't be playing hoping for one point, at most, when they're playing for two or three. You can't do that. You're putting way too much pressure on your defense."
Van Gundy had to use Drummond's back up: "Aron Baynes is a good player. I thought tonight, at the end of the game, that was an easy decision. First half, it was a little harder decision. He was 1 for 4 and we took him out at 1 for 4. That was a little harder decision. We were up one, it was first half. But the second half, that was easy."
The "hack-a-Drummond" or "hack-a-Dre" strategy has been employed most of the season, and there's no reason for opposing teams to use the same in the playoffs. No doubt this has affected the outcome of some of the Pistons games and the NBA itself is divided on whether there should be rules against this tactic or stick to "make your damn free throws."
Basketball site Hoops Rumors has discussed the scenario of the Pistons losing in the first round and having Drummond's missed free throws as the culprit. SVG will be quick to react and take him out of the game, and therein lies the question: Is Andre Drummond worth a max contract if he can't even play in the crucial stages of the game (4th quarter) because of his free throws?
When Drummond was not offered an extension early in the year, it was already a given pre-arrangement that he would be offered the max as early as possible. It is unlikely that the Pistons renege on that and there is also the possibility that another team will offer the max and the Pistons will match.
While the Pistons may be "stuck" with a 35% free throw shooter, the 16 rebounds and even the 1.5 blocks are worth the payoff.
