How Team USA Experience Will Develop Andre Drummond Even Further
The Team USA experience and playing with many of the NBA's top players will bring nothing but positives to center Andre Drummond's development.
Just two summers ago, Drummond was competing in the Summer League as an unproven rookie with both extremely high potential and plenty of question marks about his game. Not only did he earn a Team USA tryout in 2014, he nabbed a roster spot on the heavy favorite to take home a FIBA World Cup gold medal.
Drummond has been an end-of-the-bench guy for Team USA, but he's still gotten the chance to compete against and with All-Star-caliber players in practices and scrimmages. He's also been learning under some of the best coaches in the world, and he's continued to build relationships with everyone involved in the Team USA process.
The results haven't been obvious as he's spent most of the tournament on the bench, but Drummond will join the Pistons in 2014-15 as a much-improved player because of this FIBA World Cup experience.
Learning From the Best
Drummond has seen just 38 minutes of action in six tournament games—almost exclusively in garbage time—so there is little to glean from his box scores or game film. Overall, he's only proven that he is still excellent around the rim on both ends of the court.
But he couldn't have gotten a better learning experience anywhere else this summer.
First, he got the chance to practice and compete against some of the best young players in the NBA on a daily basis. That meant working on post moves against Anthony Davis, fighting for rebounds against Kenneth Faried and defending Boogie Cousins on the low block.
Drummond couldn't have gotten that working with a personal trainer, and it would have been nearly impossible to find such talented workout partners for such an extended period of time anywhere else.
He also couldn't have gotten the training under the tutelage of such great basketball minds.
Not only is he playing for head coach Mike Krzyzewski, but also for assistants Jim Boeheim, Monty Williams and Tom Thibodeau. For Drummond, the opportunity to learn from the defensive guru Thibs will be the most valuable. And Drummond's improvement has impressed the Bulls head coach, who was interviewed by NBA.com.
"[Drummond]'s gotten better and better. He’s done a great job here. There’s a lot of things he does you really can’t teach – great instincts around the basket, his ability to react to the ball and protect the rim. You can see that he’s growing offensively, getting more comfortable.”
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That is nothing but good news for the Pistons, as Drummond is expected to be their defensive centerpiece for the next decade. Under Stan Van Gundy, Drummond should be put in an excellent position to succeed. But these Team USA coaches are vast improvements over those he's had in Detroit the past two seasons.
Looking to the Future
This Team USA experience should prove fruitful on the court in 2014-15 for Drummond—it's fair to expect some improvement in defensive rotations and more comfort in his post moves. But where this will help him is down the road.
Drummond made the World Cup team over move experienced players like Kyle Korver and Chandler Parsons. Though Drummond could be seen as an insurance policy for a matchup with Spain, he was never going to play many minutes, though those other two could have.
Instead, it seems like a fair assumption that Drummond was kept on the team largely because of what he offers Team USA in the future.
Drummond is a physical freak and, at just 21 years old, has more potential than nearly anyone in the NBA not named Anthony Davis. He looks like a raw, taller version of Dwight Howard—an eight-time All Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. So when Krzyzewski sees Drummond, he must think of the kind of player he can be for the next two or three Olympics.
"We've seen him continuing to grow," Krzyzewski said before final cuts were made to Mlive.com. This type of competition for him in trying to make the team—and if he makes it going forward—only helps him. He's a really good guy and we want him.
"We want him in USA Basketball going forward because he's an up-and-coming, outstanding player."
It will be on those future teams where Drummond sees the most development. Four years ago at the World Championships, it was Kevin Durant's coming-out party. This World Cup has been Davis' turn to break out. It is not hard to see Drummond make a similar leap in two years playing a major role on a star-studded Team USA Olympic roster.
Staying in the Team USA system keeps him in the minds of the coaches and managing director Brian Colangelo. It also helps to build relationships with other NBA stars.
There is no way to predict this, but Drummond's opportunity to play with top-caliber players allows him to showcase his talents and himself as a person for potential future teammates. With the current CBA, NBA contracts are shorter than they've been in the past, and players are changing teams more freely. Just this summer, Parsons—a Team USA-level player, switched teams within his division.
It's not inconceivable that one of Drummond's Team USA teammates hits free agency in the near future and considers the Pistons. They project to have spending money for several years, and Drummond is the kind of guy you'd want to play with. And don't forget, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh allegedly decided to join together at the 2008 Olympics.
Don't expect Drummond to make that type of pact, but these events help stars form close bonds together. And teaming with another star down the road will certainly help him develop as a player.
It may be disappointing for Pistons fans that Drummond didn't see more playing time in Spain this summer. But he's gotten the best training possible and he's poised to be a major player down the road for Team USA if he continues to develop. Now the Pistons just need to build off Drummond's improvement and continue growing a contender around him.
Jakub Rudnik covers the Detroit Pistons as a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
Follow him on Twitter.
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