Cleveland Cavaliers will not play Andre Drummond, he will try to negotiate the center of the stars before the deadline

The Cleveland Cavaliers are no longer planning to play Andre Drummond as they work to negotiate the All-Star pivot ahead of the NBA deadline, March 25, sources told ESPN.

The Cavaliers are moving to make Jarrett Allen the long-term starting point of the franchise and believe it is unfair for Drummond to limit his minutes during the organization’s transition to Allen, the sources said.

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman discussed the move with Drummond and his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, and decided together that Drummond would remain with the team, but would no longer be active in the games, the sources said.

Cleveland is starting to assess the commercial market, but there are no serious discussions going on with any team, sources told ESPN.

Drummond did not dress for the Cavaliers’ defeat to the LA Clippers on Sunday night, and this will continue on Monday against the Golden State Warriors and in the future. Cavs said Drummond missed Sunday’s game to rest, and he came into the game wearing a sweatshirt with the word “goodbye” on the front.

When contacted on Monday morning, Schwartz did not confirm or deny the decision, but said to ESPN: “Whichever direction this goes, André is 27, at his peak, and I strongly believe that he has a lot to do. add to team building towards a postseason race. “

Drummond is playing with a $ 28.7 million expiring contract, which makes matching wages in a business a formidable challenge. He has averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds this season in 25 games. There are several teams interested in the 7-footer, sources said.

The Cavaliers would need to recover $ 23 million in contracts to make a Drummond operation work.

There was no discussion of a purchase contract that could allow Drummond to become a free agent, the sources said.

Drummond’s future with the Cavs dwindled last month when Cleveland switched to 22-year-old Allen, who became the center of the franchise’s future. Drummond will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and Allen will be a restricted free agent.

Allen played well in 15 games for the Cavs, averaging 13.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff recently put Allen in the starting lineup.

A multi-game experiment playing Drummond and Allen together was unsuccessful as the Cavs plunged into a fall that includes their current seven-game losing streak. Kevin Love, who has been out since December due to a calf injury, is expected to return this week and tighten up the minutes of the Cavs’ attacking pitch.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks contributed to this report.