Cavs rumors: Knicks would be very logical Andre Drummond trade partner

Andre Drummond‘s playing days with the Cleveland Cavaliers are done, as it was agreed between him/his representation and the team that he’d be sitting as of early last week in his remaining games with them. Drummond has been a key subject of Cavs rumors for quite some time now with him seemingly being an expiring trade piece.

And in that realm, the Cavs and Toronto Raptors, along with the Miami Heat and Cleveland, have reportedly engaged in discussions about potential Drummond trades. And you can view those reported details per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium in that last link on the Raptors, along with those from Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Heat.

For both, it would be far from a simple ordeal, though, albeit perhaps a deal involving several squads could play out.

In regards to others that have been reportedly linked to Drummond/rumored to have interest in Drummond, those have been the Boston Celtics are said to reportedly have a “strong” interest in him, per Sam Amico of Forty Eight Minutes and OutKick. And per a report from Evan Dammarell of Forbes and Fear The Sword, the New York Knicks have interest in Drummond.

From there, as Amico noted, along with the Knicks, the “Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets,” and the LA Clippers do, “among several others.”

For what it’s worth, the Dallas Mavericks, although there seemingly have been rumors of them feeling out potentially trading Kristaps Porzingis, according to a report from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, they are looking to add a physical big to aid him/their defense. Fischer then reported how the Mavs have “circled” Drummond for that potential piece, and have not expressed any interest in “parting with Porzingis in those particular talks.”

So maybe a deal involving Drummond, to go with salary matching in Dwight Powell, the expiring James Johnson and Dallas rookie Josh Green could be in-play, perhaps with a future second-rounder?

That said, a better alternative, and from my perspective, would be a potential deal with the Knicks, who are “analyzing” a potential Drummond trade, per a report from Marc Berman of the New York Post.

The Knicks would be a very logical Drummond trade partner, and we should expect to see more Cavs rumors involving them regarding that.

Berman touched on how while Drummond has had inefficiency issues as a finisher this season, which has clearly plagued him within the Cavs’ dynamic this season, as I detailed, in comparison to Jarrett Allen, he has been a double-double machine historically.

That’s reasonable to say regarding Drummond, who has still had 17.5 points and is second in the league in rebounding this season, and the Knicks are set to be without Mitchell Robinson for a good stretch yet due to a fractured right hand.

And for New York, though Drummond is set to make $28.7 million this season, they do have $15 million in cap space, and as Berman previously reported, Drummond would consider New York a “good” landing spot, for further context. So maybe with the Knicks, he’d be fully bought-in for head coach Tom Thibodeau, of which was not the case post-Allen trade with Cleveland.

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Plus, from their perspective, given concerns regarding knee soreness issues for Nerlens Noel seemingly related to a starters-type workload, per Berman, and Noel/Taj Gibson not having nearly the production capabilities of Drummond inside, it could have them on-board.

Anyhow, in relation to a potential Drummond deal, though, as Dammarell noted previously, the Cavs could send Drummond in exchange for Noel, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and a 2021 second-round pick from the Knicks (via the Detroit Pistons).

Knox, who has been disappointing overall, but has shown some promise as a three-point shooting wing this season, albeit in a fairly limited role, is set to potentially be a restricted free agent after next season. It’s tough to foresee him getting extended a qualifying offer then, though.

But the second-round pick via Detroit, though I’d question somewhat if New York would add that, could have value in a much better draft to come. And Noel in a backup 5 role, could be a productive defensive reserve 5 that has had 2.3 blocks per-36 minutes for his career.

Noel is an active roller/lob threat and has impressive team defensive feel, and could provide a fairly similar skill set to that of Jarrett Allen in backup minutes, too, and I’d think would be fine health-wise in that sort of role, anyhow, and should fit alongside Darius Garland, Collin Sexton/others.

And lastly, though Ntilikina has not been a contributor for New York this season, he has proven to be a high-level perimeter defender, and could help out Garland somewhat in spurts as a playmaker. He did show some potential as a pull-up shooter last season as well, albeit his career scoring clip of 6.0 points in 21.1 minutes per contest doesn’t indicate he’d be a reserve bucket-getter, obviously.

Overall, though, when you factor in that Cleveland previously acquired Drummond essentially for pennies from the Pistons, and most notably only dealt a future second-round pick, getting back an impact reserve defender in Noel (who is expiring) and perhaps a quality point-of-attack defender in Ntilikina would be meaningful.

Ntilikina could seemingly be re-signed via team-friendly deal in the offseason, too; he is a high-level defender against guards at 6-foot-4, but there’s no way he’ll be extended an $8.3 million restricted qualifying offer. It’d be a more than worthy flyer, however.

One would think a second-rounder in there isn’t outside the realm of possibility, all things considered, either, though, but the suggested one from Dammarell might be out.

Lastly, Berman seemingly floated out there that Austin Rivers could be a part of a potential trade package for Drummond, I’d imagine as opposed to Ntilikina, which could be worth taking a bite at, too. Cleveland could use his reserve on-ball abilities to again, spell Garland/Sexton.

Moreover, the more we see Cavs rumors involving potential Drummond trade partners, the more logical the Knicks seem as a possible landing spot for the veteran big.

Maybe New York would be interested in re-signing Drummond in the offseason it it were to work out? We’ll have to see.

With this situation, while Drummond reportedly would have his share of buyout suitors more so, based on rumors/reports, the Cavs could still seemingly be able to get something back by hopefully the March 25 trade deadline.