Andre Drummond is a key piece of Detroit Pistons future

With the Detroit Pistons being mid-pack again, it may be time to blow it up. Some players are untouchable and Andre Drummond is one of those.

Andre Drummond is having a career year. Unfortunately for the Detroit Pistons, it is almost being wasted because of the spate of injuries on the season. This is leaving the Pistons in NBA purgatory, not good enough to contend and not bad enough for high draft picks.

This leads to the inevitable question, should the team look to trade its best assets for potentially better ones. Drummond, the best rebounder of his generation, is probably the best asset the Pistons have right now. Some might say Blake Griffin would net more but teams would be scared off by his injury history.

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Drummond on the other hand has played 78 or more games for every season of his career, except his rookie campaign. He is a three time rebounding champion and if he keeps the current pace, Drummond is on track to win his fourth rebounding title.

To look at his basic career stats, Drummond is good in a lot of areas, and obviously exceptional on the glass. He has averaged 14.3 points, 13.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.4 steals and 1.2 assists per game. His slash line is 54.3/12.3/45.6.

Ignoring his 3-point percentage, Drummond has shown how effective he is around the hoop. His weakness has always been at the free throw line. However, as a testament to how hard he is working on his game, he has become a respectable free throw shooter over the past three seasons.

This season Drummond is averaging 17.6 points, 16.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.8 blocks. His slash line is 54.4/00.0/61.4 which shows that he is no longer an easy foul in a tight game.

So why not trade him when he is clearly at the best trade value? The answer is simple; fundamentals. Every team is built around an identity, a way they play but when it all comes down to it, the fundamentals of basketball win games.

Drummond has mastered the fundamental of rebounding, probably only bettered in the last 30 years by another ex-Piston, Dennis Rodman. The Worm was a seven-time rebounding champion and a five time NBA champion and only averaged 7.3 points per game for his career.

While Drummond has not scaled these lofty heights, he is a top-level defender and can easily score inside, especially on offensive put backs. He just needs the right players around him to make the situation work.

The other factor which must be taken into account is the contract that Drummond is on. He is in his second last year and only costing the team $27 million this season and $29 million next season. This is good value for the return the Pistons are getting off Drummond.

To put this contract into perspective, the oft-injured Blake Griffin is on $36 million next season and $39 million the season after. Reggie Jackson who might play again this season is getting $18 million. Drummond is value for money and to replace him with a center who can stretch the floor would be really expensive.

While there are some holes in Drummond’s game, you know what you are getting from him every night. On top of that, you are getting NBA leading numbers is some categories and top-20 numbers in most others. Get the right pieces around Drummond and the Detroit Pistons will be very good again. He is a key piece to their future.