It's a good question. I think a guy like Drummond has value in the league because he has certain high-level skills. People love to focus on what a player can't do, but is there any doubt that a skilled coach with the right team (say, Popovich, or Nurse and the Raptors, or maybe the Celtics) could get a lot out of a guy like Drummond?ShelC wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:47 amDon't have access to The Athletic but I've been wondering the same about Drummond. He puts up gaudy stats but anyone who's watched him knows he's not a great defender and tends to drift in and out of games. He's a liability at the FT line and doesn't have offense outside of maybe 4-6 ft, which hurts in today's game. Can he match up with smaller, face up, 3pt shooting bigs in the playoffs? Interested to see where he lands and how he's used if he goes to a playoff team or legit contender. He's played on 1 winning team his entire career but does the label change if he makes an impact on a playoff team?
Guys get labeled all the time - Book was an empty stats guy, through no fault of his own, until recently. Dirk and Pau were soft, jump shooting Euros who you couldn't win with until they won their titles. KG wasn't clutch and always passed the ball off in Minny until he went to Boston and became a champion and such a "warrior". Drum might just be a super high end role playing big who needs better players around him. If he goes to a team like Toronto and has Lowry, VanVleet and Siakam he probably looks a lot better.
The problem is when you start asking him to do things he isn't made to do, like carry an offense. Or when you start to pay him more than his true value. You absolutely cannot max out a guy like Drummond or give him a huge contract. If you can get him cheap to be a role player, suddenly he's a great value and he helps you win.
Nate Duncan is an ass.
