NBA Lottery 2012: Andre Drummond Would Give Kings Lethal Frontcourt Combo

The Sacramento Kings need to find a way to get their hands on center Andre Drummond out of the University of Connecticut. 

Drummond is just 18-years-old, and at 6'11", 275 pounds, he would combine with DeMarcus Cousins to make one of the most formidable front courts in the NBA.

As a freshman at Connecticut, Drummond showed the potential to be dominant with his back to the basket. You seldom come across a prospect with his combination of athleticism and size.

His offensive game, though raw, has the potential to become one of the most impressive sets of skills that the NBA has seen from a center in a long time. He's a rebounding force in the paint, and uses his length to rebound over defenders who are the same size as him. It's not just athleticism though, he's an intelligent rebounder, as he consistently finds himself in the right position to grab a board, even at a distance from the rim.

He doesn't always do a great job at creating for himself, but it doesn't take a great guard to make him effective. If the ball is put anywhere near the rim, Drummond can get it in the hoop.

Drummond can block shots with the best of them, and if it wasn't for Anthony Davis, he would be the best shot blocker in the draft class. He gets down the floor in a hurry, which makes him adept in transition defense. He's just as much of an opportunistic shot blocker as he is an athletic shot blocker, meaning that he knows how to guard the paint at all times.

The Kings were disappointing this season, but they put up 98.8 points per game, good for sixth in the league. Defense was their most glaring problem, as they allowed opponents to score an average of 104.4 points per game. It's not that they don't have the necessary pieces to play defense, it's that those necessary pieces are not making the commitment to defense.

Cousins has no interest in playing defense, but the addition of Drummond might change that. Maybe he'll snap out of his selfish mindset and realize that he commits himself on the defensive end, the Kings can be a decent team. He's 6'11", 270 pounds just like Drummond, and we could have another version of the Twin Towers (the newest version on the West Coast now that Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol may not be on the same team next year).

Cousins scored 18.1 points and pulled down 10.9 rebounds a night in 2012. The Kings finished the season 10th in rebounding, helped by Jason Thompson pulling down almost 10 a game.

Drummond blocked 2.7 shots per game as a freshman last season. Cousins swatted 1.2 a contest. If Cousins can commit to actively defending the interior, instead of just blocking a shot when someone comes his way, the Kings are going to let up a lot less than 104.4 points in 2013.

Drummond hasn't perfected his low-post game yet, but that's a perfect situation for the Kings, as the low block is Cousins' territory and we've seen teams recently have trouble with two post players (New York Knicks with Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire and the aforementioned Lakers). Plus, Kings brass wouldn't want to see Cousins throw a temper tantrum because he's not getting enough touches.

It seems that Tyreke Evans is not the player we thought he was, and that his Rookie of the Year campaign was more of an exception rather than a rule. It has been reported that the Kings executives will entertain trade offers for the shooting guard this offseason.

That means that the Kings don't have much of a choice but to become a big man team. Isaiah Thomas is promising at the point guard spot, and he'll benefit from having the extra interior post presence to go to.

The Kings need to grab Drummond in the draft, not just because the other players available don't fit their needs as well, but because Drummond could prove to be one of the best talents in this draft when all is said and done.