Stein reported early Friday that the sides were working towards such an agreement.
Drummond is coming off a campaign that saw him average 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks across 81 games for Detroit. He ranked 12th among centers in Player Efficiency Rating for the franchise that drafted him ninth overall in 2012, according to ESPN.com.
Although he has limited offensive range, he's one of the best players in the league around the rim, allowing him to pick up plenty of second-chance points. Synergy Sports Tech provided numbers further illustrating that often overlooked aspect of his game:
Synergy Basketball @SynergySSTAndre Drummond scored 4.6 points on put backs per game, more than the Hawks, Mavericks, Wizards, and Clippers.
Sticking with the Pistons as expected should allow him to remain a focal point within head coach Stan Van Gundy's system. The Detroit coach stated in May that he'll be looking for the 22-year-old center to make a bigger impact on the defensive end, as relayed by Zach Lowe of ESPN:
He's gotta protect the rim better. He's pretty good on pick-and-rolls, and can get better. But he's got to protect the rim and challenge shots better—whether it's blocking shots, or using the verticality to get up and be tougher. The numbers bear it out. The eyeball test, too. For his athletic ability, he's not there yet in terms of protecting the rim.
Even though seeing Drummond leave Detroit this offseason would have been a major surprise, the potential for an offer sheet is always there until an extension is signed. Keeping him in the fold for the long term is certainly the right move, despite the high price tag.
As Van Gundy explained, the UConn product is still a work in progress. His raw numbers in terms of points and rebounds are already strong for a player his age, but he's got a lot of growth potential in terms of adding more offensive variety and becoming a true impact defender.
