Drummond posted a 15 point, 11 rebound, 4 block line in high school. Mediocre compared to NBA stars. Shoot, even Kobe averaged 12 boards a game in high school. Not saying he can't develop, just that he hasn't shown us that ability yet. He is going to have much more to learn than most lottery picks. And there have been questions about his desire and work ethic.
Like Brick and I already said, Drummond averaged 20 pts, 16 rebs, 7 blocks, 4.5 steals as a sophomore playing for the varsity. He transferred to St. Thomas More in his junior year, that school has a much deeper team that "spread the wealth around." It's pointless to compare high school stats without knowing the context - a talented kid on a mediocre team is going to put up better stats than a talented kid on a very deep team. Drummond was MVP of the National Prep Tournament and carried his team to the championship (with his defense). You can try to spin it but the bottom line is, Drummond's high school career is nothing but stellar. It has some question marks and it's not perfect, but there's nothing "tepid" about it.
Questions about his desire and work ethic is just that - questions. People also questioned Charles Barkley and Rudy Gay's desire and work ethic. Sometimes those questions marks have legs, sometimes they are completely off the mark. Again, a player should be judged on the whole body of works, not just one or two attributes.
And I don't think throwing out my odds are unreasonable. It's my projection, not some advanced statistic I am trying to quote. And I think there is a less than 25-30% chance Drummond becomes a star player of Bynum's caliber. I don't claim to be any final authority on this. I would ask you though, do you understand how you sound when you say that my odds are somehow ridiculous compared to yours? Or I don't get your point just because I don't agree with it. I understand you don't agree with me. Fair enough. Doesn't make you dumb or unable to comprehend my brilliance. Just means we are looking at something very subjective and interpreting it differently.
And Bynum is a good defender. Struggles on the pick and role, but he is long, plays solid man D and blocks about 2 shots per game. And Swift was more of a PF, but was another player drafted for his great physical traits for his position. But his low basketball IQ, prevented him from being a very effective player, even in the years he got a lot of minutes and put up some stats. I am not saying Drummond will be identical to Swift, but could have a similar impact (or lack thereof).
Throwing out the Bynum comparison is pointless because no one (not even me) is arguing that he is the next Bynum (nor does he needs to be). Why compare him to Bynum? If he turns out to be Bynum-like, great, but Drummond's expected role is more of a Kendrick Perkins with much more athleticism. If you insist on this % thing, it should be the % chance that Drummond turns out to be the next Kendrick Perkins. By the way, your % keeps changing, first it's 10-20%, now it's 25-30%. These numbers are pointless because you never said
what you project Drummond to be. You only said what you projected he won't be.
And yes, Millsap is a good defensive player. He's not a shot blocker (much like Evans and Martin are not), but he plays good positional and help D. If he was on the Clippers last season, they certainly would have played him over Evans and Martin.
Millsap is undersized. You can say he held his own against bigger guys, that he plays hard, and he is smart on defense. What Millsaps is not, is a great post defender. He certainly is not the defensive wiz that the Clips want next to Blake, unless you're thinking of a Chuck Hayes type role for Millsap. In fact, if the Clips had wanted a short stubby guy to partner Griffin, they'd have gone after Hayes last season. If Millsap is on the Clips last season, they'd have traded him for more useful pieces.
The article you posted talked about a lineup used in very specific match ups for 100 minutes. That shows nothing. Just that the lineup can work for 100 minutes. And yes, without an important rotation player the Jazz probably don't make the playoffs. But without Millsap, they definitely wouldn't have made the playoffs. Take Jordan off the Clippers and they are still a playoff team. He had much less of an impact last season. But he still has a lot of potential, if he can harness it going forward.
You're confusing team talent with individual talent. The Clippers have a much deeper team than the Jazz, so they can withstand losing Jordan if that ever happens. The Jazz would not have have made the playoff if any of the key guys is out, they could not afford to lose Millsap just as they could not afford to lose Favors, Harris, or Hayward. If even Alec Burks were to miss significant time during the stretch run, the Jazz would have missed the playoff.
And for the record, I do understand the importance of a shot blocker. I would love to have one on this team to complement Cousins and Robinson. But that doesn't mean that every player who blocks shots is better to have on the court then every talented big man who doesn't block shots. There is a lot more that goes into playing good offense and defense.
Again, not the point at all. No one ever said a shot-blocker must be owned above all else. This is about fit. The Kings need a shot-blocker/post defender and a small forward who can knock down threes (even GP said so). They drafted a guy who can do neither. Nobody denies that Robinson isn't talented or that Drummond has issues. Nobody. But again, one guy clearly fits better and that guy also happens to have a higher ceiling than the one we drafted. I'd have been ok with Harrison Barnes. Both Barnes and Drummond fit the Kings' need and they
both have higher ceilings than Robinson's.
I don't throw out these useless %, I will go ahead say it here: I think Barnes will have the best career out of the three (Barnes, Robinson, Drummond); and I think Drummond and Robinson will eventually become useful career journeymen. I don't buy that Robinson is the
superior talent, he has accomplished more in college and he's more NBA ready for so', but he is
not the superior talent here. The Kings drafted for NBA readiness and a safety pick over taking a more talented player who needs more nurturing, that's is what I have a problem with.
Now, if TRob turns into an All-Star, I'll happily admit that I'm wrong. Happily.
