The Detroit Pistons will select former UConn Husky Andre Drummond with the ninth pick in this summer's NBA Draft, according to SB Nation's NBA mock guru Tom Ziller.
I'm eager to hear where Drummond's floor ends up. If he impresses Geoff Petrie with raw talent, it could be No. 5 at the Kings. If he has a less successful pre-draft run, it could be Detroit at No. 9 ... or worse. He's a big ol' mystery right now. I'm not sure Lawrence Frank (cue the Brook Lopez drop) is the right coach, or that Drummond is the right partner in crime for Greg Monroe. But remember that the Pistons desperately wanted Cousins in '10, despite the warts. A similar situation could be in place, and if Drummond drops, it could end up paying huge dividends for a not-bad Detroit team.
Drummond, a 6-10, 270-pound center, averaged 10.0 points and 7.6 rebounds as a freshman last season. He shot 53.8 percent from the floor but supplemented that with a comically low 29.5 percent clip from the foul line.
Drummond was a no-show in the Huskies' first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State, scoring just two points and grabbing three rebounds in 26 minutes. But he did show flashes in his one season at Storrs, which figures to be enough to thrust him into the Lottery.
DraftExpress' most recent mock draft has Drummond going No. 5 to the Kings.
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