Drummond takes blame for Pistons' struggles last year

Andre Drummond is taking the fall for his team's down year.

The Detroit Pistons were expected to build upon their 44-win campaign and 2016 playoff appearance, but instead injuries, offensive struggles, and off-court noise saw them finish 10th in the weak Eastern Conference this past season.

"It was a lot of up and down," Drummond recently told The Vertical's Michael Lee.

"We were very inconsistent. It was not the team, who we are. A lot of things happened to us, a lot of injuries. Guys weren't playing to best of their abilities - and it starts with me. I didn't come out playing the way I was supposed to. I needed to take it upon myself to be a leader this summer, to really take care of myself, take care of my body to make sure my team got better."

That's exactly what the 24-year-old big man did. He underwent surgery to correct his deviated septum, which should help him improve his conditioning. That, along with shaky free-throw shooting, saw him average the fewest minutes since his rookie campaign.

Drummond registered 13.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 29.7 minutes per contest in the first year since signing a five-year max deal. He shot 53 percent from the field and an abysmal 38.6 percent from the charity stripe.

The former All-Star's been putting in work at the gym to address his free-throw woes, and has dropped 20 pounds so far this summer. Now he's feeling good and ready to redeem himself in 2017-18.

"Surgery was huge for me," the former lottery pick said. "And having a clear mind, I'm just really energized for the upcoming season."

Related: Drummond vows to improve after correcting deviated septum

By virtue of the East getting weaker as a whole this offseason with several stars heading to the West, the Pistons could very well find themselves back in the playoff mix. Their most notable moves have been acquiring Avery Bradley, while losing Marcus Morris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.