Stan Van Gundy says “sky is the limit” for Andre Drummond, needs urgency to elevate game

With the Detroit Pistons missing this year’s playoffs, one question keeps looming over the franchise – what happened to Andre Drummond this season?

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Many people have given their takes on Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons (including Piston Powered’s own Duncan Smith) after Drummond saw his points and rebounds per game totals decline after making the All-Star Game last year.

Another person added their take on the 23-year-old yesterday at a team press conference – Pistons head coach and team president Stan Van Gundy.

Per the Oakland Press, Van Gundy explained to reporters he felt Drummond “needs to have a sense of urgency to elevate his game.” He also feels Drummond has a lot more time to develop his game:

"“I feel like as a coaching staff and front-office staff we feel that sense of urgency. He’s been in the league five years now — he’s still young he hasn’t turned 24 — he’s got time,” Van Gundy said. “He’s a very talented guy. He’s been one of the elite rebounders in the league. He’s got some great things to work with. There’s more there, the sky’s the limit for him and we think he’s got a chance to be really, really good to great but he needs to do some work to get there. He needs to improve, he needs to have a greater sense of urgency this summer to get where he wants to go.”"

Drummond produced 13.6 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in 81 appearances for the Pistons. He also saw his free throw percentage slightly improve, going from 35.5 per cent to around 38.6 per cent.

As noted by Smith, the Pistons also were a better rebounding team in 2016-17 with Drummond off the court rather than on it when compared to the league’s top glass eaters.

All of this is after Drummond averaged 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game on the way to helping the Pistons make the playoffs last season, ending a six-season drought.

Related Story: The Pistons biggest concerns going into the summer

Drummond will meet with team management on Monday to discuss establishing a plan for the summer and how they will move forward, according to the Detroit News‘s Rod Beard.