Source: Detroit News

Joe Dumars sat on a podium at the Pistons practice facility, grinning like the cat that had just swallowed the canary ... for the third consecutive year.

The Pistons never expected Connecticut's Andre Drummond to be around at No. 9, but when an unexpected series of events occurred, they benefited.

Drummond, a 7-foot center who comes with loads of talent but plenty of questions, is the newest Pistons player, placing him next to Greg Monroe.

Monroe fell two years ago, and Brandon Knight dropped from his expected third spot last year — both to the Pistons.

While Monroe and Knight were labeled "safe" picks, Drummond was labeled a risk. But Dumars believed his talent was too much to pass up.

The Raptors selected before the Pistons, and tried to leverage Drummond against Detroit. But Dumars said the price was too high to trade up, and he knew they were looking for a guard.

"There's a certain point where a guy's value outweighs any other concern," Dumars said. "You move way up to get him, it's a little hard to do it. If he falls, the value is too good to worry about the downside.

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