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Interesting question. It may depend on what type of big man you want on your team, and that may also depend on what else you have on the roster. Anthony Davis has the potential to be a Kevin Garnett type of player. Drummond looks like a Dwight Howard type of player. Not saying either player will end up reaching that caliber, nor am I saying neither can surpass either player comparison. Just saying that's what "type" of player each guy looks to be.
The answer is probably Davis. He has the all around game on both sides of the ball. The question for me about Davis is whether his bodytype will allow him to be durable year in, year out. Can he bulk up to 235-240 lbs. and be as effective?
With Drummond, obviously Pistons fans are really excited about the kid. He's like the 6th youngest player in the league and already making a huge impact and he's starting to get noticed beyond the local fans and media. Can he become a 20 point scorer? Well, he's averaging 13.5 PPG in 33 minutes with getting virtually no primary touches on offense, other than a couple set lob plays a game. The Pistons as a team are horrible three point shooters, so it's not like Dwight Howard in Orlando where they'd force the ball down low and have 4 shooters to kick out to so defenses weren't allowed to come with hard doubles and triples. If the Pistons offense and personnel allowed for that and Drummond were a primary scorer, sure, he could score 20 points a game. He won't do it on this team the way it's constructed presently. The comparison to a young Dwight Howard I think is fair. There are a few significant differences. Especially when Dwight Howard was young, despite the big chest and broad shoulders, Howard had chicken legs. Drummond has a strong lower half. He won't get rooted out of the post as much as Howard did when he was younger. Drummond also has really soft hands. Around the basket, he does have some touch for a big. And while Drummond is a wretched free throw shooter, surprisingly his mechanics and form are not bad at all, which would lend one to believe he can become better. Dwight Howard always had bad form shooting, shooting mostly with the wrist than the whole arm, lacked fluidity, and often looked like he short armed his free throws. Drummond has normal looking mechanics. That said, Ben Wallace had decent form and never became even a decent free throw shooter. So time will tell. Despite Drummond's size, he plays like a wing in open court. Runs really well for 275 lbs. and has really good hands and can strip the ball from a guard's dribble. His steals aren't just off big men or off of bad passes. He's stripping guards on the dribble. Pistons fans are excited and we should be. The Pistons have been pretty awful for quite a while now. It's good to be excited about something.
I do think some people are undervaluing Cousins here too. If he's not as talented as Davis or Drummond, he's not far off at all. He's one of the best low post scorers already in the league when he wants to be. He's also mobile for a big and he can pass. And despite his reputation, I think he's actually a smart player. He's just a smart player that does stupid things. It's like Kobe when he chucks shot after shot. Cousins often knows the right play to make, but he chooses to disregard it anyway. That's not always stupidity. Often times, that's overconfidence evolving into ego. While Cousins' at ude and socio-mental issues may hold back his game, I think he's as talented as any young big in the game. Statistically, he's already pretty good. I think he could be "THE" dominant big man in the league if he got his together. Of course, that's a really big if.
