Top 10 players setting themselves up to be overpaid

1. Andre Drummond

The Detroit Pistons thought they found a very successful front court duo when they paired Andre Drummond, the ninth-overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, with Greg Monroe.

But the two just didn’t fit together on the court. Maybe that was because of a lack of stability at the point guard position for the Pistons, but now we can never know because Monroe moved on to the Milwaukee Bucks this past Summer in free agency.

With Monroe gone, Drummond will be the main contributor in the paint for the Pistons. He’s come a long way since averaging just 8 points per game as a rookie. Drummond poured in 18 points per game last year and tacked on an average of 18.5 rebounds per game with it.

In four seasons, Drummond has averaged 2.1 blocks per game and is a definite candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

He’s making less than $4 million right now, though, and he’s set to become a restricted free agent after this year.

Similar to Hassan Whiteside Timofey Mozgov, Drummond will be able to cash in on a weak market for big men. Again, don’t take this as a claim that Drummond isn’t a highly talented player. Just like every player on this list, he’s  an extremely gifted player.

But there’s no way to know if Drummond will be able to consistently put up the numbers he posted last season.

Is Drummond worth the same amount of money that Anthony Davis is worth? Some would say no because Drummond can’t create his own shot. Most of his points come from cleaning up on offensive rebounds, lobs and other shots in the paint.

Basically, a team could be willing to give him a gigantic deal just to get his defense — with the hope that he can grow offensively and become more than just a dunker.

There’s nothing wrong with that role. Every player has a role. But Davis is a candidate for the MVP award this season. Most people would say Drummond isn’t in that range right now.