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FORD: Lillard is a willing passer. Rivers isn't and will never be. Lillard made dramatic improvements from year to year. I thought Rivers was the exact player in college that he was in high school. Lillard is a team player. He was the second most efficient player in college basketball DESPITE being the only decent player on his entire roster; teams game planned to stop him and him alone every night. I just don't see Rivers ever being anywhere near as unselfish or efficient. I think Rivers will be shocked at the athleticism and length at his position. He'll try to do the same things at which he excelled in high school, spend a lot of time on the bench, get into it with his coach and teammates, get traded in a year or two to a desperate team, put up huge numbers for a cellar-dweller for a year or two, make some money, and eventually, teams will realize he can't be the alpha dog on a winning team.
SIMMONS: Other than that, you're a huge Austin Rivers fan.
FORD: I honestly think Rivers is the one guy I wouldn't touch in the lottery. Too toxic for team chemistry, doesn't have the same physical tools to make it worth it.
DAVE TELEP: There’s no question that that Andre Drummond is, in my mind, all things being equal, should be the number 2 pick in this draft.
I guarantee you he’s going to go somebody’s camp and there’s not going to be anyone on the roster who looks like him or moves like him. Does he want to be Andre Drummond the rotation player, or want to be Andre Drummond the guy who challenges for a max contract someday?
Where he’s going to fall on that continuum? I don’t think that you can possibly answer that question right now. It is truly up to him.
CHAD FORD: [Drummond] -- this isn’t a question of his character, by the way -- he doesn’t have a clue what it takes to be a great NBA player. He doesn’t understand the work that’s got to be put in, how hard it is, all the obstacles and challenges he’s going to face. He doesn’t have a clue.
That’s not a knock on him, by the way -- you could say the same thing about LeBron James. Now that he’s won the title, you’re hearing LeBron talk about things he didn’t know, things that he wasn’t doing, that he started doing when he realized he was going to have to put in more effort.
He’s been so great for so long, but to be a great NBA player requires hard work, it’s not just about being big or athletic, and I just don’t think [Drummond] gets that yet, but I’m not saying he won’t get it. I think he very well could.
TELEP: You think about when Randy Moss was drafted by the Vikings, and Chris Carter takes him under his wing. Andre Drummond is very much going to need someone to do that for him. Maybe Juwan Howard gets his 20th season serving as a mentor to Andre Drummond. Because if he’s going to be successful and max out his ability, he’s going to need someone to walk this journey with him a little bit.
If you put Andre Drummond with the Spurs -- and [I'm] just throwing them out because of the culture -- you put Andre Drummond with guys who have an approach to their job, that conduct themselves in that manner at an elite level, you’re giving him a final chance because he’s able to reset his foundation a little bit. If he goes to a culture of not much structure and a lot of flexibility, it could be trouble for him.
FORD: That’s a great point, and unfortunately, most of those teams drafting at the top of the lottery are drafting at the top of the lottery because they don’t have the right mentors and often times the right systems in place. And if he goes to the Bobcats, I’m not nearly as bullish on him as I would even going to the Wizards where Nene and Emeka Okafor are there as veteran guys who can help him understand what it takes to be an NBA pro.