Rick Mahorn At SportsFest: Andre Drummond Could've Been 'Rookie Of The Year'

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Is Rick Mahorn still the "baddest 'Bad Boy' of all time?" It didn't seem like it Saturday at 97.1 The Ticket's SportsFest at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

He was described that way by a Pistons announcer in the 1980s, when he was a hard-charging power forward and center, but these days it's a different Mahorn. "Is that me?" he asked, laughing, as a fan handed him an old photo for signing. "I guess so."

Mahorn took time to chat with fans and answer questions about the future of his former team.

"The future's bright, Andre Drummond, once he gets healthy, you foresee some good things in the future because once he learns the game of basketball ..." Mahorn said, heaping high praise on up-and-coming Andre Drummond. "He's young, energetic, athletic, it's good to see all those things wrapped up into one."

Mahorn is such a fan, he thinks Drummond could have already earned one of the biggest honors in the NBA.

"He would've been a strong candidate for rookie of the year if he was starting, but Coach Franks thinks it's a learning lesson, it's progression, it's not about what's happening now, it's about what's going to happen later," Mahorn said.

He also weighed in on hosts at 97.1 The Ticket, especially Tony Ortiz, who he loves to harass. "Tony Ortiz is my man, I love Tony, it's a lot of fun ... Blame it on (Matt) Dery, " he said about the stuff he heaps on Ortiz, saying Dery puts him up to it. He added of Dery: "He's not lazy, he just doesn't like working. But I tell you, he's one of the best guys I know and I love going on air with him."

Mahorn won a championship with the Pistons in 1989.