Despite a report last week linking them to trade candidate Andre Drummond, the Knicks have no interest in trading for the Pistons‘ center at this year’s deadline, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Detroit reportedly reached out to the Knicks about Drummond, and while one report suggested talks between the two teams were more than just exploratory, there’s no indication they gained real traction.
The Knicks’ stance on Drummond appears to be similar to the one Atlanta is taking — the Hawks reportedly ended their trade talks with the Pistons, recognizing that they’ll have the flexibility to pursue Drummond in free agency if they want to, rather than giving up assets for him now.
While Berman doesn’t confirm that the Knicks will go after Drummond in July, he writes that it would “make no sense” if they don’t.
One of New York’s most promising young players is center Mitchell Robinson, but Berman points to Robinson’s inconsistency, foul problems, and limited offensive game as reasons why the Knicks shouldn’t rule out the possibility of pursuing an impact veteran center like Drummond — they just likely won’t do so on the trade market in the coming weeks.
of course not, they’re probably more interested in the rebuilding process for the next 5-10 years
Drummond equals Enes Kanter with better P,R.
Hopefully, the idiots Mills/Perry will be out by the summer (replaced with someone who has a clue about team building), so anything as idiotic as signing Drummond to a mega-contract will be off the table. The fact that Robinson, at 21, is not a perfect player, doesn’t justify using a big money slot (a team only gets a few) on a guy who duplicates his skill set at more than 20 times the price, and can’t play with him or at all late in games. Knicks have an endless number of roster problems, and Drummond doesn’t address a single one.
Agreed. Would’ve been nice to be further along in the rebuild (some questionable draft picks like Knox for example), but it takes time and Robinson is part of that rebuild. He’s still young and learning, but the talent is there. Burning dollars on Drummond will only get them a few more wins while setting them back on other needed positions that can be addressed in free agency.
Good news for Drummond
Pistons going to have to end up letting him walk in FA for nothing at this rate
Not if he accept his player option for $28,751.771.
That’s looking more likely. Drummond can be had for not much and he will probably stay with whoever has him, but the chorus has been singing mehh.
Robinson will never be Drummond. He’s still 3 yrs away. Remember Knicks brass dummies. Traded team for Mello. Instead of waiting for FA.
Had the knicks not traded for Anthony, Brooklyn would have acquired him and it’s very likely Melo would have resigned. A bigger issue is failing to realize that Melo was not a champ.