It’s well known around the NBA that Andre Drummond won’t play a single more minute with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, as the team is making efforts to trade him ahead of the deadline.
The former Detroit Pistons star picked up his lucrative option for this season knowing that it might as well be his final chance to can in on a big paycheck, as the heavy-footed, old-school big man is a dying breed around the league.
Then again, it seems like he’s drawing plenty of interest in the market right now, and the Los Angeles Lakers – the alleged frontrunner to land him – could face some tough competition among Eastern Conference teams.
Raptors, Nets, Celtics, And Heat All Want Andre Drummond
Apparently, an unnamed league executive told NBA insider Gery Woelfl that the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat are all making calls about Drummond, as they know that they need someone to match up with Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the playoffs:
“All of those teams in the East know they need an established and reliable big if they were to face Embiid or Giannis in the playoffs,” he reported.
Drummond has made great strides as a defender over the past couple of years and he’s been the most dominant rebounder in the league since he was drafted, so there’s no wonder why there are many teams interested in his services.
The Lakers, however, could only make a run at him if he gets bought out following the trade deadline, as they’re unwilling to part ways with any of their assets in a trade. Sadly, that could cost them a shot at him.
Andre Drummond is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, thus making it hard for other teams to trust him enough to trade a lot for him. Then again, that might be their only chance to land the best available big man in the trade market right now.