CHICAGO – Andre Drummond could join the line of Pistons masked men.

After Drummond had recent surgery to correct a deviated septum, a problem that’s caused him breathing issues for several years, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told the Free Press on Friday that it could make Drummond more prone to a broken nose.

Hence the possibility of a mask.

“The only thing is there’s a little bit of a chance that it makes you more susceptible to breaks, which he knew going, which means he may have to wear a mask, at times,” Van Gundy said outside the Quest Multisport facility.

“Or if it gets hit. So we’ll see.”

It’s only a small chance, but if Drummond ever dons a mask, he would join former Pistons such as Bill Laimbeer, Rip Hamilton and Antonio McDyess to wear the nose protective devices. Current backup center Aron Baynes has also worn a mask.

Drummond told reporters last weekend about the surgery, which he had a few days after the conclusion of the regular season.

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He first suffered the injury in college at UConn and re-aggravated the injury going into his second season.

He’s been playing with a closed left nostril since.

“I never really had a chance to really sit down and do a surgery,” Drummond said last weekend. “Last year, we made the playoffs and the year before that, I went to the Olympics. It was really tough for me to be out for six weeks and not be able to do anything.”

Van Gundy said he hasn’t seen Drummond since the surgery but has lunch planned for Tuesday.

“He’s had that going on for a long time and the timing just hasn’t been right to get it done,” Van Gundy said. “So he got it done. He said he’s feeling a thousand times better."

Drummond, 23, is coming off a disappointing season after signing a maximum contract. A constant knock was a noticeable lack of energy. Drummond said the issue grew worse over the years and breathing became very difficult this past season.

“Obviously you need both nostrils to play, but for me, I’m hard-headed and I didn’t want to do it until it was the right time to do it,” Drummond said. “I just said let’s figure out a way to breathe the right way until I get a chance to do it. That’s the way I played for four years. I made it work. I didn’t do that bad. I still went to the All-Star Game, I was All-NBA. I still made certain things work.”

Van Gundy is hopeful.

“Breathing would certainly help,” Van Gundy said.

Ice breaker: A common thread emerged from prospects who interviewed with the Pistons at the combine this week.

The Pistons had prospects break down four or five video clips at the start of sessions.

“The one thing is it’s something that they’re very comfortable talking about and it’s good to get them in the session where they’re comfortable and talking and able to communicate what they’re already aware of and their understanding of the NBA game,” general manager Jeff Bower explained.

It’s not the norm. Gonzaga big man Zach Collins said only a handful of teams used the tactic out of the 14 interviews he scheduled this week.

Nothing that happens during the session is a deal-breaker, but it does give Van Gundy insight into basketball IQ of the 20 prospects interviewed this week.

“There is no right or wrong answer; I just like to hear them talk about basketball and articulate what they see on the court,” Van Gundy said. “Most of them will go back to their rules in college about defensive rotations. I’m not worried about what it is (they know), but more if guys have a pretty clear understanding of what they think should be done.”

Contact Vince Ellis: vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.