The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly “unlikely” to extend Andre Drummond.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Andre Drummond via trade with the Detroit Pistons near the 2020 deadline, it was understandable. The Cavs only traded away John Henson and Brandon Knight, who are both set to be expiring, to go with a future second-round pick.
That’s not to discount future draft capital, but in this sense, that wasn’t much to give up, to go with the other two pieces. Henson is a fine rotational big, but one couldn’t have faulted the Cavaliers for doing this deal.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, though, we didn’t see much of Drummond with the Wine and Gold. The sample size was only eight games, due to Drummond being somewhat banged up due to a then-calf strain, and then the novel coronavirus-induced hiatus.
From there, the Cavs ultimately were not a squad invited to the 2019-20 season resumption in Orlando, either. So it was rough for Cleveland, in terms of their evaluation of Drummond’s fit alongside pieces such as Kevin Love, Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and others.
It does still seem, though, that the Cavaliers should have more time in getting a guage of the former longtime Piston. Drummond is reportedly highly likely to pick up his $28.8 million player option for next season.
It does appear that while Drummond could be an unrestricted free agent if he does not do so or sign a long-term extension with the Cavaliers, both sides are reportedly “far apart in those preliminary discussions,” per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
Fedor noted how whereas before at “one point, there was mutual interest in an extension.” Well, that potential for an extension seems, given the COVID-19 financial impact to come, too, as Fedor put it, “unlikely.”
As a Cavs fan, this is a relief.
I don’t want to grill Andre Drummond here, here’s carved out a nice career, and is only 27 years old.
The guy is a two-time All-Star, and is probably the NBA’s best rebounder, and this past season, was realistically the league’s rebounding champ once again. That marks the fourth time in his eight-year career that’s been the case.
That said, for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they shouldn’t be looking to seemingly shell out a big portion of their cap looking onward to Drummond. He’s a good player, and last season, had another career-best in scoring with 17.7 points per outing, thanks to continued low-post polish.
Drummond is a highly capable roller and affects games and helps carve out space with his presence as a screener, and to some degree for shooters, as a lob threat. Nonetheless, the Cavs reportedly “unlikely” to extend him this offseason is a relief.
Drummond has not developed a jumper, let alone a three-point J with any sort of volume to this point in his career. Perhaps that can play out at some point down the road, but that’s going to be this coming season, or at least that’s extremely unlikely.
Additionally, can Drummond, who can get opposed against quicker bigs and against squads with maximum floor spacing, given how the league is now, be consistently on the floor in closing stretches?
That’s a question I have reservations about, even with Drummond being an imposing presence on the interior to some degree and having good instincts as a rotator in the paint.
Moreover, while Drummond could potentially make a significant impact on the interior, on the glass and as a roller, and maybe as a secondary playmaker help to some extent, it’d seem reasonable for him to be an expiring piece near the next deadline.
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Fedor noted in that above mailbag question response how Cleveland’s best chance to trade Drummond “would be at the deadline,” and we’d have to see as far as a fairly young salary matching player/players. For more reported details on that topic, you can view those here, as a side note.
Perhaps if the Drummond experiment is going well, and particularly if the Cavaliers don’t draft a big, maybe they keep Dre through the 2021 deadline, anyhow?
And maybe they’d consider a fairly reasonable long-term deal next offseason, if Drummond seems to fit especially well with the Cavs and impacts winning?
That’s really tough to foresee, though, as Cleveland could seemingly draft a big, and while I wouldn’t be a fan, if he drops, that could be James Wiseman, or Obi Toppin, of whom there’s major defensive concerns.
Meanwhile, I’d be very on-board with Onyeka Okongwu, whose switchable if needed, is a viable rim protector, has playmaking potential and flashed face-up capability in his lone collegiate season at USC.
Albeit even if the Cavaliers don’t draft a big, whether or not Tristan Thompson were to be back, feasibly for a one-year deal via reportedly the $9 million ballpark mid-level exception, looking at moving Drummond near the deadline would seem logical. That’s if a young big were factored into the deal, one would imagine, as part of a package.
Anyhow, to reiterate, given the mensicule sample size either way, it’s a relief as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan that it’s “unlikely” that Drummond and the Cavs agree to a long-term extension this offseason. That’s also factoring in Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr.’s contracts and their roles, too, and I’d still think Love will stick around through next season, frankly.
Again, maybe Drummond works out really well with the Cavaliers. But the lack of shooting capability, and defensive concerns in this modern league would make it foolish, at least before we see more with Drummond alongside others, to extend him before next season.
Perhaps if Drummond does eventually stick around all of next season, though, the two sides can reconsider next offseason. Albeit that wouldn’t seem all that likely, for now.