4:45pm: The buyout agreement is official, according to a team press release.
“I want to thank Andre for his contributions to our team both on and off the court, and for his professionalism and mutual cooperation as we navigated through this process with him and his representation,” GM Koby Altman said. “We have great respect for Andre as a person and a player here in Cleveland and we are happy to have reached an outcome that is in the best interest of both Andre and our team.”
12:53pm: The Cavaliers have reached a buyout agreement with center Andre Drummond, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Drummond will be free to sign with any team once he officially clears waivers.
The move was expected, with reports on Thursday indicating that the Cavs were negotiating a buyout with Drummond after failing to find a favorable trade at the deadline.
Drummond, 27, is averaging a double-double for the eight consecutive season in 2020/21, with 17.5 PPG and 13.5 RPG in 25 games (28.9 MPG) for Cleveland. However, he wasn’t in the Cavs’ long-term plans, so the team pulled him out of its rotation in February to create more minutes for new center Jarrett Allen and to resolve his situation.
Drummond’s $28.75MM expiring salary made it impossible for the club to recoup anything of real value on the trade market. However, he could be as available on the free agent market for as little as the veteran’s minimum. Money will be one of the factors Drummond must consider as he weighs which team to join next, since some of his suitors – including the Lakers – will be limited to offering the prorated minimum, while others – like the Knicks – could go much higher.
His potential role and the opportunity to compete for a championship are other factors that Drummond will have to consider as he explores his options. Besides the Lakers and Knicks, the big man is expected to talk to the Clippers, Celtics, Hornets, and possibly the Nets.
Executives around the league reportedly view the Lakers as the frontrunners for Drummond.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
People thought detroit did awful trading him away for a 2nd rounder but that’s better than a buyout
Yeah but Cavs had Brandon Knight and John Henson who’s contracts were like $25m together if I’m correct. So money wasn’t an issue for trading him. This year no one who wanted him had any players on bad contracts like that that they were willing to give away. Knicks, although had role players to trade that could have worked, didn’t want to give up Bullock/Burks because they were apart of the rotation, unlike Knight/Henson.
Cavs might have botched the Drummond trade/buyout, but stealing Allen away from the Nets makes all of this less relevant to the Cavs long-term plans.
Right, so KC is spot on, Detroit doesn’t look as lousy now
Yeah that’s fair
I hope he goes to Knicks and they make a run. Idk if he is the difference maker but could be fun. Not sure he is answer for the Lakers either but who knows with them. Hollywood magic.
I don’t see the fit with knicks.
They have Mitchell as their center and a decent backup in Noel. That seems like a good rotation.
You’re not playing either of those guys alongside Drummond.
Lakers if they promise him a contract next year
Jeff Green played for Rockets after buyout last year
He demand $5 million contract offseason
Rockets rejected
At that time Rockets still had Westbrook and Harden
They don’t appreciate
Nothing is for sure
Old school coach like Thibs will remind the NBA. How you use a center like Drummond. Rumor is they are offering 3 yrs. We can let Noel walk or sign n trade him next yr. Mitch is 22 and still growing. Coming back from injury now. Drummond gives us depth another scorer to make a playoff run. He’s from north of the Bronx, Mt Vernon. So it’s like coming home. This will push Mitch to reach his potential. And if Drummond works. We can use Mitch or Drummond to go for another star next yr. Knicks are looking towards the future. Drummond helps us as a player or an asset. I trust Thibs can work his magic on him. His 17 a gm helps us immensely. Cause we gave trouble getting points at times. This will take some pressure of RJ n Randle. So I’m all for it. Just don’t give away those picks please
What r u talking about
I was thinking the same. Use him as an asset next year…he just got bought out. The Cavs are paying him NOT to play. And Thibs isn’t going to change him – he doesn’t even play D.
He was bought out at age 27 this season and was traded for 2nd round picks when he switched teams before, why would the knicks be able to use him as an asset when his other teams couldn’t? Unless he goes there on a 10 million a year deal which 100% won’t happen, I hope he ends up in Charlotte next season
Watch and learn . Yet the genius hopes he goes to Charlotte. Yeah you guys get it. Please explain his failings to us. Cause you must watch him all the time. A guy who puts up those numbers can easily play team D. You do understand grabbing a rebound is playing real D. I agree you really do have to wonder why geniuses think he can’t play D.
I would love him with the Knicks. Just not the Lakers, Jazz or Clippers please. I think he could do good work in NY.
For a highly productive player who seems like a decent guy it’s amazing how little respect Drummond gets.
He’d look great in a mountain jersey
As a Pistons fan I warned Cavs fans about him when this trade was done. They didn’t want to listen at the time (understandably), but now they know.
There’s a reason there were practically zero Pistons fans upset about trading him away for nothing. He’s an all-time great rebounder, but he has the basketball IQ of a middle schooler and is completely unaware of his limitations. Cares more about getting his own numbers than he does about being a part of a winning team.
Really he’s the most frustrating athlete on a team I’ve rooted for in my life time. So talented. If he had the right mental makeup he could be so good. But he doesn’t.
He’s worth having on your team if you need a center, but not for anywhere close to the amount of money he was making. He just never became the player we thought he would be in Detroit.
Yes to all of this. And even if a team needs a center, they should think twice about him. If he didn’t demand the ball on offense so much, he could be a near max player. But his wild layups, poor passing, ball handling, and Iso-type play has truly made his value a fraction of what it could be.
No offense brah. No one turns down 28 mil a yr. Drummond came on as a 19 yr old to a 25 win team. You never coached him or developed him. He basically just went for his stats. Sound familiar !!!!
Yet with him you won, 29, 32, 44, 37, 39, 41. Even though he never had help. Jackson was a bust and Griffin got hurt again. Without him you won 20 and this yr 12. So you blame the organization failings on him. Cause you offered to pay him most money. He was 23 at the time. Pistons thought it was more important to pay him than to teach n develop him. He is not a max player center. But he is better than 60% of centers in the league. Therefore he is worth more than 10 mill a yr. What he really needs is to be coached.
They said the same about Randle. Empty stats and low IQ. All teams gave up on him. All the media said he wasn’t worth his salary onKnicks. Now he’s an all star at 27. And sane people are saying he is the guy to build around. The best player on the team. Why did you draft Toppin when you had Randle. If a guy has talent The organization has a responsibility to develop it for that team. Coaches and organizations fail just like players fail. Drummond can still help a franchise. I trust Thibs.
Al should have been a deFENCE lawyer!
I always thought Randle, like Drummond, got a bum rap. From the critics, you’d think both have long been stiffs. Both can be productive on winning teams.
You’ll see if you get him. He’ll make you want to tear your hair out.
I’ve watched this guy play 100s of games, and I grew to be beyond sick of him. Yes, I agree he’s better than 60% of centers in the league. In his mind he’s an MVP candidate though. He’ll jack up bad shot after bad shot, and pout if he doesn’t get his way. Spoiled. Lazy. No basketball IQ. But talented enough to make up for a lot of that.
There is hope that if he’s surrounded by enough stars that he’ll learn his place. But it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he started pouting because he doesn’t get to put up 20 shots a night on the Lakers either.
“We have great respect for Andre as a person and a player – but not enough to keep him on our team despite a significant financial investment. He’s your problem now!”
It’s not that I’m a huge fan. I just don’t buy a guy who puts up consistently for his career 15 n 12 and is 7 ‘tall. Can’t help your team if you coach him to do it. Cavs stopped playing him cause they were winning. And they wanted a better pick. Why win 10 more gms and move out of lottery. When he wasn’t in their future anyway.
Stan Van Gundy was brought in to coach him. Dwane Casey was brought in to coach him. Rasheed Wallace at one point was brought in as an assistant to coach him. He never learned anything significant in his 9 years in the league.
Eventually they just wanted him gone. And so did us fans. (who were higher on him than anyone a few years back)
If there’s a team that badly needs him right now, its the lakers!
So tired of the Lakers, Clips and now, the Nets, being the easy choice.
The knicks financially is the wise choice but thats not the only motivation to play in the NBA!
Those teams take risks and build star studded teams. Something the kings, hawks,hornets,magic,bucks,wiz,grizz,wolves,knicks,Pels have failed to do.
As a long suffering Nets’ fan since about 1980, I resent the animus the fans of the rest of the league have toward. We haven’t won a ring since we had Dr. J and I’m too young to remember that. My earliest memories of him were as a Sixer. When I started watching, our star was Buck Williams. (BTW, RIP Stan Albeck) We had some excitement with KA, DC and Petro (Gd rest his soul), then actually made the finals twice following the trade for JKidd, but most of the team’s existence has been a painful one. I’m happy we actually have a contender now. In Marks we trust.
Drummond to the pistons
He’d look great in a mountain jersey
I think the Mavs need a player like Drummond. The Mavs have no one who can guard a Gobert, and they have no way to punish a team like the Lakers for playing small/playing Anthony Davis at the 5. When Luka is off the floor, I think the best way to build a successful backup unit around KP is by pairing him with a Drummond like center. (Drummond, KP, Josh Richardson, Hardaway, Brunson would be an exceedingly strong bench unit). A Drummond type center also pairs great with Luka…creating a highly efficient, high gravity pairing on the pick and roll. A Dwight Howard/Steven Adams type. Most of these centers seem to be awful free throw shooters, and can get exploited by excellent shooting small ball lineups. But, IMO the Mavs need this kind of center on their roster. Maybe if the Mavs upgrade their power forward position in free agency, they could do without this type of center. If the Mavs had a MPjr/John Collins/PJ Washington/Aaron Gordon type power forward, maybe that relieves most of the need for a burly type center. I hope they get their third big star, but if they don’t or even if they do, a big athletic center would seriously improve their roster.