NBA Power Rankings week 12: injury fallout, OKC Thunder highs and lows

Detroit Pistons:

Offense: (109.1)  15th
Defense: (111.8)  23rd
Net: (minus -2.7) tied 23rd

Games Week 12 (1-2): Won at Cavaliers: 115-113, Lost vs. Cavaliers 112-115 (OT) | Bulls: 99-108
Games Week 13 (3 games): Mon vs. Pelicans | Weds at Celts | Sat at Hawks

Two keys factored this week in the news for the Detroit Pistons. First, Blake Griffin underwent arthroscopic surgery on his wonky knee. At this stage, the franchise isn’t citing a return date simply stating Griffin is out indefinitely. Does that mean he’s gone for the season or will he return to finish out the campaign?

The other hot topic is the Pistons appear to be aggressively shopping Andre Drummond. At the crux of this situation is the obvious takeaway being the franchise has finally decided the Drummond – Griffin experiment isn’t going to work. With Detroit needing to put people in the seats at their new arena it’s inherent they retain Griffin (plus with his contract and injury history he’d likely be more difficult to move).

At issue is the question of how valuable Drummond is. Surely the Pistons will want to get value for him despite AD being on an expiring contract and any team buying into a trade would need to know he’ll either opt into his last year on his contract or be willing to re-sign. And, then there are the stats. How much of these stats are padded by the fact he’s their primary option with an absence of talent on the court due to injury.

There is no debating his value on the boards but paying someone $27 and $28.7 million a season to rebound is insanity.  He can protect at the rim and has some defensive chops but not on the same scale as the best centers in the league. Just ask Joel Embiid who has owned Drummond.

That means any team picking up Drummond needs to have a stretch four to pair with him and feel confident he fits in their system where he can truly be an advantage. It’s difficult to isolate on an elite team where he fits. Nor has he proven to be a robust team leader so adding him to a young squad isn’t a given either. For those who’ll point to the Hawks rumors it’s more likely they would be invested in adding a center of Steven Adams ilk.

We’ll keep an eye on this but I honestly can’t think of the perfect fit for Drummond and with teams not looking to shed salary for the upcoming sparse free agent summer it makes this one of the more perplexing situations in the association.