The Pistons have undergone several changes this offseason. On May 7, the team fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and weeks later parted ways with general manager Jeff Bower. On June 11, Detroit hired Dwane Casey as its newest head coach.
With a new head coach comes a new playing style, and two-time NBA All-Star Andre Drummond is preparing for the upcoming season by working to add 3-point shooting to his offensive arsenal.
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"I don't do stuff (on the court) just to have fun," Drummond told theScore at Team USA minicamp. "If I'm taking those shots, (it's because) I'm working on it for the upcoming season. Those are shots that I'm gonna be taking.
"I make at least 200 corner 3s every day before I leave the gym. I'm getting them up. I'm getting the same shot up over and over again, so I'm getting more comfortable with it. It's been great so far."
Should he be focused on this aspect of his game? NBA.com's Scott Rafferty recently outlined how his shooting would be beneficial for Detroit's offense.
Adding a 3-point shot to his game would certainly help a Pistons team that enters next season with a projected starting lineup of Reggie Jackson, Reggie Bullock, Stanley Johnson, Blake Griffin and Drummond. Other than Bullock, who emerged as one of the best spot-up shooters in the league last season, Detroit lacks players who can be counted on to space the floor at a reliable rate for their two All-Stars and Jackson, a dynamic point guard who consistently ranks near the top of the league in drives per game.
Even if Drummond became an average shooter from long range, it would make up for some of the spacing issues that have prevented the Pistons from being a decent offensive team in the past.
While the idea makes sense in theory, Drummond's history of having a poor shooting touch (career free throw shooting percentage of 42.1) greatly decreases the likelihood of him actually developing a respectable 3-point shot.
The problem is Drummond hasn't shown many signs of being a capable outside shooter in his NBA career. While he's coming off his most successful season from the free throw line, he's taken a total of 30 3-pointers since he was selected with the No. 9 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and he's made only 29.1 percent of his field goal attempts from midrange, the bulk of which have come in the form of deep hook shots out of the post, not jump shots.
Most of Drummond's 3-point attempts have been heaves at the end of quarters or with the shot clock winding down, too. There aren't many examples of him taking an in-rhythm 3-pointer in a Pistons uniform.
The first full season of the Drummond-Griffin experiment will be markedly different than last season's 25-game sample. If Griffin, who made 1.9 3-pointers per game last year, and Drummond can both be effective from the perimeter, the Pistons may very well reach new heights and return to the playoffs.
But that's one big "if" considering Drummond's lack of experience outside of the paint.
