3 ways reported trade acquisition of Andre Drummond helps Cavs

#1: Drummond provides rim protection/more activity in passing lanes

Everybody and their brother knows that the Cleveland Cavaliers have not had legitimate rim protection for a few years now.

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The Cavs again are currently last in the league in blocks per game, per NBA.com, at least before Drummond’s trade acquisition, but Drummond clearly helps that considerably.

According to Basketball Reference, Drummond is sixth in the league in total blocks, and his 6-foot-10, 279-pound frame does good work in terms of altering many others throughout games.

For a Cavs squad that gives up so much opposing penetration, leading to way too many easy looks, having Drummond in there to help out Cleveland’s young backcourt of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, along with Kevin Love, should be a big help near the basket.

Hopefully, by the end of the season, the Cavaliers are not still conceding the most paint points per game in the league with the impact Drummond can provide near the restricted area and/or with his length affecting entry passes to cutters as well. After all, the former Piston is fourth in the NBA this season in deflections per game, according to NBA.com’s player tracking data.

Though I will always be a big fan of the way Thompson competed so hard for the Cavs on the defensive end and of course on the glass, and I believe switches out in pick-and-rolls defensively against ball-handlers better than Drummond, Drummond is a much bigger body near the basket/paint for good stretches that the Cavaliers have desperately needed to help out their young pieces, also factoring in Cedi Osman and Kevin Porter Jr.

I would imagine head coach John Beilein and associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will be big fans of that, and Drummond’s presence both in terms of shot altering and in the passing lanes should give Cavs such as Sexton, Garland and Osman more transition opportunities. Of course, we still do not know if TT is, in fact, going to be with the Cavs or not the rest of the season as seemingly a rotational 5 playing alongside Larry Nance Jr., which he is now.

If that’s the case, and Thompson is still engaged, that could be a rock solid big-to-big bench combo, too, but again, I’m really far from certain if Thompson, after the Drummond acquisition, will really be bought-in for that sort of role in Cleveland.

Alright so on to the second way this Drummond addition helps Cleveland.