Is Andre Drummond In The Cavs’ Long-Term Plans?
At the trade deadline last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded away Brandon Knight, John Henson, and a second-round pick for Andre Drummond. Why? Because they basically got the former All-Star for free from the Detroit Pistons.
At 27-years old, Andre Drummond has sort of been forgotten by the rest of the NBA and for no reason. All that he has done consistently is go out year-by-year and not only average a double-double in points and rebounds, but be an above-average shot-blocker. In 8 games last season after being traded to the Cavs, Andre Drummond averaged 17.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
The Cavaliers would not have traded for Drummond if they did not intend to keep him for the foreseeable future and as a result, it would come as a shock if they traded him away or did not re-sign him to a contract extension. Besides Larry Nance Jr, the Cavaliers do not have any relatively young players in their frontcourt and Drummond could act as the older, All-Star level player for this young team.
Drummond, after opting into his player-option this offseason for the 2020-21 NBA season, told media members that his plan was to always come back to Cleveland and that he never gave it any other thought. Maybe this was because by returning to Cleveland, he guaranteed himself $28.75M for the 2020-21 season, but who knows what Drummond’s true intentions are.
It would be in the best interest of the Cleveland Cavaliers to keep Drummond long-term as they need to have a reliable big man they can be comfortable with for the next several years. Andre Drummond is that guy and should continue being one of the best rebounders in the league this year with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
