Cavs: No matter what happens, Andre Drummond deserves his credit

Andre Drummond’s efforts for the Cleveland Cavaliers have been admirable this season.

Andre Drummond is a player that has been, and will continue to be, a key player mentinoed in trade rumors. That will be the case even more so, naturally, with how the Cleveland Cavaliers recently acquired Jarrett Allen via trade.

Allen, who has had 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game thus far this season for the Brooklyn Nets, is only 22 years old, and is among the league’s most efficient rollers. Rim protection is one of his biggest strengths, too.

Allen, who is set to be a restricted free agent after this season, is the kind of player that Cleveland has coveted for a number of years as well, in relation to his skill set, to go with his youth, most notably, in particular.

That’s per a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), and one would assume this coming offseason, Allen will almost certainly be locked up long-term and/or have a potential offer sheet matched by Cleveland. He’s the Cavs center of the future, as KJG’s Grant Puskar highlighted.

Regarding the present, though, the Cavs will have Allen, and still, after Thon Maker was waived (along with Yogi Ferrell), have Drummond and JaVale McGee as far as regular rotation 5’s. That’s not including two-way 5 Marques Bolden.

When it comes to Drummond and McGee, Fedor in a Friday report noted how the Cavs have received calls about them both, essentially based on the Allen acquisition. From there, Fedor suggested some potential suitors seemingly for Drummond, and actually the Nets for McGee.

"“If an offer comes that makes sense, the front office will consider it — and likely say yes.Portland could use a rim protector after Jusuf Nurkic fractured his wrist Thursday night. Toronto may need a boost since offseason pickup Aron Baynes hasn’t worked out. In an ironic twist, the Nets would benefit from an infusion of size after dealing Allen and could be interested in McGee’s expiring contract given their cap issues. The Charlotte Hornets are thin inside as well. Perhaps the Dallas Mavericks become a possible trade partner.”"

And according to a report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, multiple Eastern Conference executives believe that Drummond’s days are numbered with the Cavs. Scotto then reported how one East exec thinks Drummond is “definitely out of Cleveland,” albeit moving Drummond’s $28.8 million salary for this season won’t be the simplest task.

While of course the rumors will be there, Drummond could potentially just be kept through the deadline, to help mentor Allen, to an extent, of which he seemed very willing to do, based on Fedor’s report.

From there, the Cavs could let him sign elsewhere via unrestricted free agency this offseason, and keep him for the rest of the season for his production/veteran presence. And in the offseason, they could perhaps look to sign a veteran, more team-friendly contract reserve 5.

McGee, who is set to make $4.2 million this season, will be much, much easier to move than Drummond.

The Cavaliers, based on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s creativity, Drummond’s long-standing relationship with general manager Koby Altman, and with both Drummond and McGee’s buy-in, though, won’t just rush through a deal.

Anyway, while I applaud McGee for his efforts this season, too, which have led to him averaging 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per outing, Drummond’s efforts have also been admirable. And we should give him his love for those.

No matter what happens, Drummond deserves his credit for his efforts for the Cavs.

We did see some of Drummond’s impact more so after he became more comfortable leading into the league’s prior hiatus/ultimately the end of 2019-20 for Cleveland after he was acquired via trade near last season’s deadline from the Detroit Pistons.

And thus far in 2020-21, after he picked up his player option before the season, Drummond has made his presence felt on both ends. At this point 13 games in, he’s averaged 19.3 points, 15.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists (although he’s had 3.8 turnovers), 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per outing.

Drummond’s rebounding splits are leading the NBA once again, as he’s done regularly in recent seasons, including four of the past five, and Drummond set a Cavs franchise record for double-doubles to begin a season, which was 11.

He missed Cleveland’s game on Tuesday versus the Utah Jazz due to an Achilles contusion, which was a blowout loss, albeit that was the second leg of a back-to-back. And he played unbelievably well for the Cavs on Friday versus the New York Knicks; he tied a career-high with 33 points, to go with a whopping 23 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

That was the first 30-20 game for Cleveland since Carlos Boozer in 2004, too, per Cavs Notes.

Anyway, the key here is that Drummond deserves his credit for continually producing on the interior offensively, although the touch hasn’t been great, and being a key reason why the Cavs have the league’s third-best defensive rating.

Others in that realm relate to Bickerstaff, the league’s steals leader in Larry Nance Jr., to go with McGee, Collin Sexton and Damyean Dotson, for instance.

But in Drummond’s case, especially, no matter what happens involving him/whether or not he does get traded by the deadline, Dre needs his flowers for his efforts night-in, night-out for the Cavs. That’s even more so when you factor in how depleted Cleveland have been in relation to available bodies.

Kevin Love (right calf strain/reaggravation) could still reportedly miss the rest of this month, Darius Garland (right shoulder sprain) has missed the Cavs’ past seven games, Collin Sexton (left ankle sprain) has missed the past five and Dylan Windler (left hand fracture) has been sidelined since Game 1. And Kevin Porter Jr. (personal) and Matthew Dellavedova (concussion), meanwhile, haven’t yet appeared in 2020-21.

So again, while it definitely doesn’t seem as if Drummond will be around long-term, at minimum, even if he’s not dealt, with the Allen acquisition, I do applaud Drummond for his efforts with the Cavs.

There have been some head-scratching decisions from Dre at times, who tries to frankly do too much here and there throughout games, and his lack of touch is frustrating, but we have to give the dude his flowers.

Whatever happens, that’s fair to say, and either way, I more than appreciate the professionalism Drummond has displayed during this season.