Andre Drummond made the best financial decision of his career by choosing his $ 28.7 million player option last season. The period of free agency that followed was particularly cruel for the big ones. Only two centers, Anthony Davis and Christian Wood, achieved more than the mid-level exception. It is where Serge Ibaka, Derrick Favors and Montrezl Harrell settled. All three are easier for the winners.
Drummond, 27, shied away from what has increasingly become a perpetual buyer market for centers, but he would always have to face that eventually. Now, he has a contract expiring so big that few teams have the means to negotiate for him, let alone interest. But now that Cleveland has chosen Jarrett Allen as its long-term holder, it is looking for one of the few possible deals at the table.
In declaring this publicly, the Cavaliers sacrificed the little influence they could have. Drummond has value in a vacuum, but $ 30 million backups are few and far between, and only a few select teams will want to make the necessary sacrifices to acquire it. Any team that does this needs to be in desperate need of immediate help (even as rented) or should see Drummond as a possible long-term initiator at the center. Only a small number of teams mark either box. Here are the five most logical among them.
The Raptors are the only team known to have shown an interest in Drummond so far. Here’s the problem: they don’t have a compatible salary. Assuming that the young Toronto trio of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are untouchable, he would have to stack several paper players just to get to Drummond’s level. These players are more than just fillers. A package from Chris Boucher, Aron Baynes and Norman Powell would become legal from March 3, for example, but is Drummond more valuable as an expired contract than Boucher or Powell? Probably not. There is no version of a Drummond trade that does not involve Raptors giving up on a serious present value.
There is a solution to this, but it is expensive. Toronto could easily match Drummond’s salary including Kyle Lowry in a deal. Cleveland, with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland in place, would probably not value Lowry especially, but a number of competitors could in a three-team deal. Let’s say, for example, that Toronto negotiates Lowry with Philadelphia to choose the draft. They could take Drummond back from the 76ers, who could send the expired contracts for Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson and Mike Scott back to Cleveland.
But this is not a move to be considered lightly. Lowry is a franchise icon, and negotiating it would probably only come with your consent and in recognition that both sides would be better off moving on. Doing this for Drummond would essentially be a bet on its adjustment as its long-term center and would essentially mean sacrificing its 2021 cap space. If the Raptors believe that Drummond can be a permanent fixture in their attacking court, it’s worth considering.
Charlotte swayed and missed Harrell, and her attack court is a mess as a result. The 6-foot-7 PJ Washington is playing significant minutes in the center. This plan is not defensively sustainable. Drummond is no Rudy Gobert, but he offers stability that the Hornets woefully lack. It’s time for the Cody Zeller era to come to an end.
Therefore, it is appropriate that he probably provides most of Charlotte’s corresponding salary in this business. Malik Monk and Bismack Biyombo could do the rest. This is hardly an exciting return on a former All-Star, but remember, Cleveland traded only a second round choice and an overdue salary to get Drummond first. The Cavs didn’t exactly make a heavy investment, and neither did the Hornets. Drummond would occupy most of his space at the limit this season, but assuming they could hire him for a friendly deal with the team, they could still carve enough beyond him to add a significant part to his rotation.
Now we come to the rental part of the process. This would be quite quick. The Knicks lost to Mitchell Robinson to a fractured hand on Friday. They have won their two games since then, but lost the rebound battle on both and were defeated in the paint by Atlanta on Monday. Derrick Rose’s switch signaled a serious desire to stay in the playoffs, so if they don’t believe in Nerlens Noel as a replacement for Robinson, Drummond is a stylistically similar replacement.
The Knicks have two main advantages if they want to pursue Drummond. The first is his recent frugality. The Knicks have $ 17 million in cover space burning a hole in their pocket. They could use it to absorb most of Drummond’s business without sending nearly the same salary. The other advantage here is time. The Knicks could really see this as a month-long change. Put Drummond at the door, start it until Robinson recovers, and then deliver it on time to another stakeholder if he doesn’t feel comfortable being Robinson’s backup later.
Is this particularly likely? No. The Knicks are undefeated without Robinson, after all, and short-term rentals are not particularly frequent in the NBA. But it is an option that the Knicks could consider. Few other teams have this flexibility.
The Mavericks have improved recently, but are still in tenth place at the Western Conference and could use a short-term update. In a perfect world, that would come in another position. Kristaps Porzingis is more valuable as a center, as it limits the amount of perimeter defense he needs to play and maximizes spacing between floors. But adding another big man can help Dallas keep Porzingis healthy, and the Mavericks are in 24th place in recovery rate. Luka Doncic wouldn’t say no to another lob threat.
James Johnson’s high expiring salary may provide most of the ballast, and Cleveland may be able to extract a little extra capital in a business, taking over the business of Dwight Powell, who, unlike Drummond, extends beyond this season. In that sense, Dallas could see the negotiation as a short-term update and a long-term limit eviction. This may not be enough to convince the Mavericks to send a choice in the first round, but perhaps one of their young players could fit into the business.
This is exactly the type of movement that the Heat does not do. Miami does not mortgage long-term assets for short-term dressings. The Heat learned the dangers of investing a lot of money in non-sniper hunting centers with Hassan Whiteside. Miami has higher ambitions than Drummond.
But the Heat needs to do something if this season is going to be saved. COVID-19 was a viable excuse at the beginning, but losing to the Clippers without four holders is not something that is expected of a Finals defense team. Drummond, with all its flaws, fills existing gaps in Miami. The Heat is nearing the end of the league in rebounds and scoring. They could use great pre-existing men Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard as their filler caps.
But that would be a significant stylistic change for a Heat team that preferred to play Bam Adebayo in the center or next to a center of fire. The spacing of a Drummond-Adebayo-Jimmy Butler trio would be dangerously tight, especially without Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson on the floor. Drummond is not exactly the type of offensive brain player who tends to fit into the Heat.
Again, it is not a typical heat movement. It may not even be sensible. But the Heat is struggling at 11-16. Something needs to be done to save this season if the Heat is concerned with winning in 2021. If they choose to focus their efforts entirely on their search for superstars for the future, Drummond makes little sense. But if they want to take a swing now and shore up some current holes in an effort to make a tiebreaker, there is at least one argument in favor of buying bass at Drummond. It is probably not one that the Heat would sign, but it does exist.