As the No. 9 pick in the first round of 2012, Drummond's current strength is definitely not as good as Wang Zelin and Davis, but he is at least worthy of the Pistons management's focus on training him.
He averaged 7+7 per game in his rookie year, and evolved into a 13+13 double-double machine in his sophomore year. Although the data last season was almost the same as his sophomore year, still a 13+13 double-double, there was still some improvement.
Finally, in the rookie contract year, Drummond's personal skills have ushered in a big breakthrough. Not only has his hand skills stabilized a lot, but he has also developed a certain coordination ability and short-range jump shots. The offensive end is not so easy to be defeated. Targeted.
Currently, the Pistons have played a total of 5 regular season games and achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, which can be regarded as the most impressive start in the past five seasons.
As the team's center forward, Drummond missed one game against the Suns due to injury, but his performance in the other four games was absolutely divine.
The opening game against the Jazz was 18+10, which was relatively average, but in the next three games, the Bulls were 20+20, the Pacers were 25+29, and the Hawks were 29+27 in the last game.
The most important thing is that he won all four games he played.
This further proves Drummond's importance to the Pistons.
With the explosion of rebounds in the next three games, Drummond, who averaged 21.5 rebounds per game, successfully surpassed Wang Zelin's 17.8 and currently ranks first in the rebounding list.
It’s no wonder that the outside world has recently started to discuss “re-examining the 12th draft”. Many people say that the 12th draft is definitely an underestimated one. Even compared with many previous big years, the number of players in this draft is The success rate and the amount of success must be even better.
Suddenly, the two major topics about the rearrangement of the 12th draft and the comparison between the era and the previous god-level draft years quickly swept through all major social media.
…
On the night of the 9th, the Trail Blazers started a back-to-back Eastern Conference.
When the two teams were waiting to play at the entrance, Drummond came to Wang Zelin, shook his head and shouted: "Wang, I will decide this year's rebounding champion, just wait and see."
"Hey, the weather has cleared up and the rain has stopped, and someone feels like he can do it again?" Wang Zelin said in surprise.
"What do you mean? It's obvious that you're in trouble and you still have to rely on others. I'm going to get 20 rebounds on your head tonight!" Drummond said dissatisfied.
It can be seen that his astonishing performance of 20+ rebounds in three consecutive games made him so praised by the media that he even forgot his last name.
"I will give you the same sentence, 20 rebounds, no more, no less!"
Wang Zelin grinned, with a hint of cruelty in his eyes.
"Then let's make a bet to see who has more rebounds tonight and who will be responsible for the supper tonight." Drummond said with a smile.
"What's the point of inviting just one person? If you want to invite, then invite a whole team."
"Okay, it's a deal!"
"readily!"
"Pa!"×2
Witnessed by players from both sides, Wang Zelin and Drummond high-fived and reached a bet.
Soon, the players appeared.
As soon as Wang Zelin and his teammates stepped onto the floor of the Palace of Auburn Hills, deafening boos erupted from the scene.
Of course, in Wang Zelin's view, this is no different from cheers.
"Come on baby, let me hear your screams!"
Arriving at the center of the court, Wang Zelin put his right hand to his ear and shouted to the audience as if he were returning to this home stadium.
"Hush! Hush! Hush..."
The fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills were even more excited, and some were so excited that they planned to throw popcorn.
When Coach Terry saw this scene, he shook his head helplessly. This kid is really capable of tossing people around.
Then, the home team enters the stadium.
Oops, someone really became the boss of the team!
Pioneer rest area.
Wang Zelin sat on the bench and was slightly surprised when he saw Drummond was the last player from the Pistons.
But having said that, based on his crazy performance in these games, Drummond is definitely an All-Star this year, and may even be expected to enter the best lineup. In terms of potential, he does have the highest ceiling among the Pistons. .
In terms of personal strength, he also seems to be the strongest.
This summer, the Pistons management made a lot of operations. Although they didn't catch any big fish, they still made good reinforcements for the team.
The first is to get Spurs backup center Aron Baynes for 20 million in three years. He was signed to make up for the loss of Monroe, hoping that Baynes, who was only 28 years old, would become Drummond's inside partner. .
Then a deal was completed with the Suns, in which the Suns sent Marcus Morris, Danny Granger and Reggie Bullock in exchange for only a 2020 second-round pick from the Pistons.
Obviously, the Suns are clearing salary space. The combined annual salary of these three players this season does not exceed 6 million yuan. After this transaction, the Suns' available salary space in the future will be greatly increased.
This deal can be seen as everyone getting what they need, but the Pistons are undoubtedly the more profitable one.
It is worth mentioning that among the three players who were packaged, Danny Granger is undoubtedly the most embarrassing one. In the past two seasons, he has changed four teams in a row.
Who still remembers the 08-09 season, when he was also an All-Star!
To this day, people can only lament that injuries are more severe than tigers.
In addition to trade reinforcements, the Pistons management first signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension with the team's starting point guard Reggie Jackson.
The Pistons' choice has been criticized because this guy received a five-year, 80 million contract in just 27 games. Even Wall, who is next door, said sourly: It's unimaginable that Reggie's salary is the same as mine. As much.
But Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy firmly stated: "We are building a team that can win, and we think Reggie will be part of it. We need to make sure that Ray is together and that we are together for the long term."
In addition, in order to enhance the depth of the frontcourt, the Pistons spent another 2 years and 5 million to sign Joel Anthony.
Through the above operations, it is not difficult to see that the Pistons' ambitions this year are not small.
If the goal of the entire Pistons team in the preseason is to return to the playoffs after a six-year absence, then with Drummond's explosive performance at the start of the regular season, their goal has gradually become More long-term.
For example...the championship!
Don't find it funny, because Reggie Jackson said boldly after signing the contract: "I am very excited to stay here for the next five years. I will practice every night until the end. I hope I can bring the championship to Detroit!" "
In response to such remarks, the entire Pistons team, from the management to the players, expressed support and support.
Immediately, major media began to analyze the Pistons' team building ideas this season.
After some research, everyone discovered that the Pistons were building a team imitating the Magic that reached the Finals that year. They used Drummond as the center and the shooting ability Ilyasova as the space-based 4th position, which they acquired through trade. With shooting forward Marcus Morris, he partnered with Reggie Jackson and Pope on the outside.
Judging from the book strength, the Pistons' lineup is theoretically enough to rank among the top six in the Eastern Conference, or even the top four.
Of course, this is only the theoretical stage now. Although the Pistons have made a rare start in recent years, they still need to compete with various strong teams before they can verify the gold content of this lineup and see whether their strength is Match current ambitions.
To use an old saying, it's a donkey or a horse, just pull it out and run around.
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