Player name: Andre Drummond
Position: Center/Forward
Height: 6’11’’
Weight: 270 lbs
School: Connecticut
Short summary of the player and his stats from college
Drummond earned Big East All-Rookie honors while averaging 10 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks a game as a freshman. Drummond is second only to Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for youngest player available in the draft, and comes with an intriguing mix of unquestionable talent and bust potential.
Why the decision was made to select this player
Portland has two huge holes to fill in the off-season, and the point guard position is the one I don’t think they should try to address through the draft. Drafting a point guard can be dangerous. Even if there’s a chance that Portland’s draft choice turns into Derrick Rose, the chances that he ends up like Sebastian Telfair or worse is much much higher. For that reason, I think the Blazers should use their first pick on a center. Drummond is raw and young. We all know what happened the last time Portland picked a raw young center, and if the Blazers do end up taking Drummond with the sixth pick expect to hear plenty of Greg Oden references. That being said, I don’t think the Blazers’ brass should let GO’s history stop them from going after a legit big guy. There are very few in the league right now. Taking Drummond, and building him into an elite level player could mean victories for Portland for a long time. Looking for an aging center in free agency, or making a two or three to one deal to get Dwight Howard probably won’t.
How he will fit in with the team
The nice thing about what Portland has going for them right now is that their best scorer is also a big. Drummond won’t have to try and score a lot to be effective. He’ll have to take up space in the middle and block shots on defense and rebound and keep low post guys honest on offense. One of the major problems Greg Oden had when he was playing was trying to get him touches when Brandon Roy and LaMarucs Aldridge also needed to get their touches. There’s no reason to think that Drummond would come in and demand to be made the centerpiece of the offense right away, or ever. Drummond fills out Portland’s starting five, or he backs up Joel Przybilla for a while so he can get his sea legs against second unit bigs. Playing in the West, Drummond is going to get a chance to see a few of the best big guys in the league up close and personal. He’s also going to get to bang with two of the best young big guys around. That should give him plenty of opportunities to learn on the job. If Portland goes with Drummond, they need to think of him as a 20-minutes a night type guy, whether starting or coming off the bench. That’s how he’s going to learn. And that’s how he’s going to make the Blazers a better team.
Best case and worst case scenarios for this player
Best-case scenario would probably be one of the better more athletic shot-blocking bigs. Serge Ibaka or Tyson Chandler. Best best-case scenario: A’mare Stoudamire (a comparison from his assistant coach in college).
Worst-case scenario: Greg Oden (obviously)