8:17pm: The Lakers have officially signed Andre Drummond, the team announced on social media.
12:54pm: Coveted free agent center Andre Drummond plans to sign with the reigning champion Lakers after he clears waivers today at 4 pm CT, his agent Jeff Schwartz has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
As we relayed yesterday, Woj previously reported that the Lakers were a “strong frontrunner” to ink the veteran big man. Drummond also met with the Celtics, a club in the market for a Daniel Theis replacement after moving their starting center in a cost-cutting deal.
The 6’10” Drummond, a two-time All-Star during his tenure with the Pistons, should immediately get the starting nod ahead of erratic current starter Marc Gasol and undersized reserve center Montrezl Harrell, Woj noted in a since-updated story previewing Drummond’s interest in the Lakers yesterday.
After spending portions of two seasons in Cleveland, Drummond reached a buyout agreement on Friday with the Cavaliers, who are prioritizing young new center Jarrett Allen. Across 25 games with the Cavs this season, Drummond averaged 17.5 PPG and 13.5 RPG.
Given the Lakers’ salary situation, the deal can only be at the veteran’s minimum this year. But a starting nod and robust rebounding numbers on a club expected to contend for a repeat title could be a terrific opportunity for the 27-year-old Drummond to prove his mettle and make a case for a longer-term contract this summer.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report observes (via Twitter) that there is “not a real obvious path” to an ample future long-term agreement with the Lakers. The team will have Drummond’s Non-Bird rights at season’s end, but the ability to offer a raise using those rights will be extremely limited.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ok
I compare him to Wilt
I’m thinking more Kareem…I absolutely expect to see him as a pilot in an Airplane! remake at some point.
Lol Drummond isnt even Dwight level.
You must be a clippers fan because lakers fans don’t bash there team members !!
Dwight is a certain hall of famer even before the ring he got recently. Drummond has a long long way to get to that
In the womanizing sense or some other sense I assume, not the on-court sense.
Obviously you aren’t lakers fan either by your comment!!
I heard he’s a virgin,so…
Different Laker
A.C green
No surprise, but I could’ve seen the Knicks reversing course after the injury to Mitchell Robinson.
Same here, but can’t blame him for picking the Lakers over the Knicks.
I think they’re rolling with Noel and Gibson at center with Randle handling the small ball lineups. Robinson is a tad overrated. The Knicks went on a run when he got injured
Really nice pickup
Thank you for taking Kobe off as your avatar !!!!
Just goes to show who cares about the game and who’s here for the attention they don’t get in their day to day
Yet here you are, commenting on my post. I live rent free hahaha
You’re both little babies.
That funny little phenomena is called “memory”. Many who have it like having it.
No one needs to be crashing other people’s accounts here.
You must be the Rookie here. Unfortunately there are some here for the wrong attention.
No surprise but they will get dominated in the finals va the nets if they both make it .
At least the Nets have a chance to get there. But the Lakers are barely competing right now with both of their star players on the sidelines. By the time the playoffs begin, assuming the Lakers even reach them, LeBron should be okay but AD will still be working his way back into game shape.
Truth is Lakers have to be healthy to make a run. So that is worth watching. They got time though.
Still think lakers are much more likely then the clippers to make the finals and I’m not confident in the lakers at all ! Clippers are just the opposite of a problem
West is still tough to win. Drummond and healthy Lakers makes them a favorite. I still like Denver, Clippers, Jazz, Suns in that order. Gonna be fun
I think veteran point guards make both the Suns and the Jazz very tough in the playoffs. Now that the Clips also qualify in that attribute, I would add them as well. If Lebron is healthy, it is unwise to bet against him though. Should be very interesting in the West. In the East it is really only a question of will the Bucks carry over their momentum, and will the Sixers and Brooklyn have all their stars? Miami, even with recent acquisitions, still seems a little short on firepower.
At least the Lakers are better than a G-League team unlike the Rockets
Who’s goin to defend LeBron & AD? The Nets (who will be bounced in the 2nd Round) can only hope LBJ/AD are slowed down by themselves b/c there’s not a double, triple, quadruple team that Coach Nash can look to for help. BKN is a 15 man defensive allergy attack that’s only waiting to combust. Playoff Season: when players TRULY give their 100% (advantage Lakers), most noticeable on defense (advantage Lakers), pace dramatically slows down (Lakers), half court sets on nearly every possession (Lakers), turnovers are amplified (Lakers), as spacing becomes vital (Lakers), & dominant post-play can be THE difference (Lakers)… While Harden continues chasing his clear top priority of winning MVP, he’s playing more minutes than any other player while obviously not near his physical peak. While Kyrie continues chasing his clear motivation of being 3-4 men simultaneously, & believing each of their IQ’s are more than just double digits. At least KD & Blake share the same dream…winning the Academy Award for Best Drama & Comedy Performance, respectively. LaMarcus? Feel like his spare time is spent reading dictionaries. DeAndre? He’s the rare type of player who appears to have never played the game until being drafted/signed/traded/bought out/signed/released/signed. He’s also rumored to have never practiced. Ever. But goodness, he is one athletic MFer with very close eyes. To eachother… The Nets also have real chemistry/continuity issues, along w/ a roster of 10+ interchangeable 3’s & 4’s. The team management has been a train wreck that pieced together a redundant roster, handed the coaching keys to a Canadian soccer player who shares the same key deficiency as his players: vitamin D & hops.
The Lakers? Well, Los Angeles is an absolute mess & shell of its former self of not even a year ago. Those who remain are modern day hippies (real facists who call everyone else facists), actors/actresses without skill who stayed thinking their chances must’ve improved. So a decent amount of bored, hot babes looking for men w/ big wallets… unfortunately, sex is grim because Hollywood’s chewed up/spit out these folks, leaving only people without feeling (“what do u get when you combine sociopaths & big pharma? Hollywood”), without jobs (100k new residents per day who somehow all speak fluent spanish), without money (tee’d up for the wrath of The Welfare State to attack), no morals (you moved to LA for you, but almost stayed while looking back at you & all the good times you had. But, you knew you had to be shared. You became focused on nothing but you)…
…so aside from hoopin’ & polishing hardware, there’s NOTHING to do. From Miss Buss, to Mr. Pelinka, to Coach Vogel/Kidd/Hollins, down to ‘Bron/AD, over to Kuz/KCP, subbed out for Caruso/THT — ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER #18!
Huge upgrade over Gasol, who has mainly just been hard to watch this season and has been one of their biggest weaknesses, (probably the biggest). As I said before, the Lakers not only needed to make this happen, but should also push Gasol to the bench in a simple minutes filler role during trash time. Harrell is undersized at center, but he plays with good energy and contributes, which cannot really be said for Gasol so far this season. Gasol should be behind Harrell in the rotation. It has been frustrating seeing Vogel insist on starting Gasol when he has been available. At least that won’t be happening anymore.
Gasol just became the new Dudley.
No team can lose with two Dudleys…that’s just science.
yup even with bron and ad out theyve got nothing from him – i think hes prob out the rotation by playoffs w this signing
drummond is by far the best buyout guy on the mkt imo so this was a good signing either way
but even bigger w the bron injury. lakers can now build a semi functional offense w/ schroeder + drummond flanked by kcp and kuzma and possibly avoid falling too far in the standinga
Yeh this serves as a kind of water treading until they are at full strength. The question is, how many games will they need to get everyone on the same page, and will they have enough of them before the playoffs?
Sadly for the Lakers Drummond won’t be able to handle embid in the finals any better than he has during his entire career
Yes, but who does? 8)). Just have to double-team him and hope someone else is having an off day.
Gasol can handle him, LOL!
Still got to 5 PM eastern to sign with Knicks. I get he wants the chance at a ring. I wonder though how much he could resign for. I don’t think LA gets his Bird rights. So it would just be for this run. Well Lakers need him. I’ve been saying it since Cavs sat him down. Still see the West as a tough run to make.
Jarrett Allen is only 5 years younger. So 27 now is old. So James is dinosauer.
And have in mind that Gasol had coronavirus. He will come back to contribute more.
He didn’t have it all season. Having that virus recently has nothing to do with him being completely ineffective since day one of the season.
Do you watch the Lakers at all. They are 29 – 17 with their main players hurt. And missing plenty gms. With Gasol playing 20 mins 4 reb, 2 ast, 1.2 blk, 80% FT, .365%FG 3PT. He is not the rim protector Howard and McGee were. But he’s a smart big. Lakers were always going to need another big. With or without Gasol. I’ve been discussing it here since they signed Gasol. You see a real rim protector which he’s never really been. Makes your team D better. Key word is TEAM there no hands. Gasol is not the problem just never the solution. Last yr Lakers were 3rd in team D.? This yr they are 7th. But closing gms out having better team D helps. Especially in playoffs. Really smart blaming one player. You understand Drummond is not a rim protector too. Lakers win with depth that means everyone.
I knew it…
Guess that’s it for the Raps then. Too bad.
Lil D bottom 3 you truly do have the mind of a five year old
NBA makes me puke. Even if you are
a Laker or Nets fan, you have to say this sucks. Total garbage for the league !
Nothings perfect in life
Mlb has no cap or floor
Nfl tanking is much bigger problem
I agree Silver should probably make some tweaks , but puke? Cmon bit hyperbolic
My question for the people who object so vehemently to the buyout market is this:
Are you against free agency—which has become WAY more decisive in which teams are contenders, and over the last 10-12 years has essentially become an in-season networking contest—as much as you are to the mid-season buyout market?
Durant and Kyrie both colluded in-season to go to NY. Draymond was sending texts to KD during the 2016 WCF. Kawhi straight up told PG13 to ask for a trade (right after he signed an extension!). And of course the “I’m bringing my talents to South Beach” that (allegedly) started it all.
And then there’s mid-season stuff like AD and Harden (who both allegedly spoke with Bron and KD respectively) “demanding” trades, but making it clear they only have ONE team in mind — which artificially depresses all of the other offers and makes it forgone conclusion they’ll go where they want, regardless the price.
Because I object 1,000 times more to THAT aspect of the league than washed up Blake Griffin and LMA going to an already stacked Brooklyn team.
The buyout market is at least not overtly flouting the rules of the league — the team and player make out and then it’s essentially free agency.
What’s happening in free agency is routinely violating the collusion rules of the CBA and no one seems to care—at all. Despite the fact it’s turning the league into a predetermined group of coastal contenders.
No doubt surfer your issues are bigger issues …
Only problem is I dont see a viable way to circumvent those things happening….sure they could hand out fines but I mean whoes going to police it? And then its open to interpretation etc etc etc
I hated the” Im bringing my talents ESPN moment” with all my heart…… it really turned me off at the time to the sport and still does to an extent ……
I will say I dont think its so coastal or nothing tho….look at Mil and Den ….Utah has best record in league and the SA Spurs were probably the best franchise in the NBA the last quarter century
I dont have the answers, but I do have faith in Silver to slowly bring this along to something better…… think small changes yearly is the answer, dont think theres a one stop fix but I do think NBA is in a lot better spot than MLB/NFL….ofc to stay on top you always gotta improve your own side of the fence, I think Silver knows this and have confidence in him moving forward
Im with you – idk how you fix it in this era with social media and the like. Guys are going to talk during the season, maybe fines would work but probably not (also how do you prove collusion beyond a reasonable doubt?)
agreed on utah and milwaukee, but they did the homegrown route. its the miamis, ny’s and la’s that have been able to attract multiple top 10-15 guys via free agency.
lakers are a great example of a team that had multiple years of horrible mgmt and boom lebron wants to play in la – then he gets in the ear of ad and its all good.
Yeah, it’s always been a sad time as a Mavs fan to see time and time again how we plan to have salary cap space only to be spurned by players who’d rather play in the LAs, Boston, Miami, Nets, etc… I’m not sure how you fix that.
As for the claim game, why not tie back to pick compensation. So if a former all star with FA expectations of a certain tier hits the market (e.g. Drummond), it requires a 1st round pick lost (not awarded to a team – just given up) for that team to claim him. Don’t have one because you traded your pick to get your superstars? Well you can’t get the player then. If a lesser player with MLE-based contract expectations that might be a bit longer in the tooth, it’s a 2nd round pick, etc. If not pick related, maybe it means they lose the MLE for a year. Just SOMETHING where it’s not a popularity contest with the best cities with best teams don’t immediately get to freely add amazing players. It’s simply not fair to the rest of the league. It wouldn’t be fair if Drummond picked Dallas either. It should cost SOMETHING and I bet it would make a lot of players be more respectful of the contracts they sign for as many would be released only to sit and hear crickets due to teams not being willing to pay the price. I don’t know how to propose it, but it shouldn’t be free for LeBron to get ANOTHER all star. It shouldn’t be that easy for La to get closer to ANOTHER ring. Sad…
It’s easy to fix….. find a player like Luka …. Why do you think Bron can get players. KD and Kyrie think they are Bron but aren’t . Even Harden thinks he can walk in there and take over. Players want to win. Stars have the power in NBA. Cause it’s only 12 players suiting up. Means if you have two major stars you can build around that. Looks easier in NBA. But it’s not. Winning is still a team game. Not a two or three star system. Best way is build thru draft and development. Then you can sign players. Building thru draft gives maneuverability with the cap. That’s IMO the best way to do it. Warriors built thru draft and have been riding that for 7 yrs now. And still have a couple more shots at it. Why blame the players. We all need owners who know what they are doing. Are in this to win not for exposure or tax breaks. Winning is business for a sports franchise, or it should be. Great players who prioritize winning are not that easy to find. Very few Brons in the world. Be thankful you got Luka who could be the next one.
The NBA is the first league to give its stars the power they deserve. Why should that bother anyone. If you team was any good. They would want to sign with them. It’s pretty simple. Build a winner and stop crying……
Good post Al.
Only thing Id say is you put “best way is to build thru draft and develop”, which I totally agree. But then you put “then you can sign players” which is what I think most of the conversation is centered around :being that’s not as practical for some teams as it is others with this uneven market-
I {think} I can get the frustration of other smaller teams like this. Ive always been a Laker fan so I probably have no clue truly, but if being honest I can see why outside fans hate us so much. We solved a huge problem 20 mins ago by doing nothing other than running some copy paper thru the printer on some Drummond contracts.
Cap hell, no MLE /Bi-annual left, no picks, little trade assets above water , NO Problemo ….other teams cant run near those margins, we are always only talking margins here .
Not every yr is like this. Most who complain cause it’s their team not being helped. What’s wrong with players having some power. Pops didn’t have to let Aldridge walk. He is 34 and never won. You think Pops wants to help Lakers or any other team. He’s looking out for a guy who put in his time and had great career. I’m all for players having power.
@Cap & Crunch I would say the excessive brain damage and lack of guaranteed contracts is a bigger problem in the NFL, but that’s just me…
Really it’s not about the FA that suck in today NBA it’s the in game rules that favor offense. It really hurt the nba. No defense is played and scoring in bunches became easy and boring. I hope silver brings back some of the 80’s early 90’s rule were defense was encouraged
Whole nother bag of nuts but yes I agree the swing your arms thru and get a foul move Harden and Trae have perfected needs some looking into –
Id also like to see the offensive push-off being called more if we are going to neutralize the defender in the first place w No hand checking.
Tough road for your kind of progress to be made tho…all sports are gearing up on offense b/c they think it attracts fans….it doesnt….look at baseballs failed attempt . I agree with your premise tho
Dieng would have been a much better fit
Enjoy no defense no spacing stat man. Should’ve gotten Dieng
Arguably the best center in the league
Best center in what league?
The NBA (National Basketball Association)
I think the Lakers are being super cautious with AD and LeBron. Back in 2019 the Warriors dynasty’s came to a sudden end! Perhaps Kevin Durant could have remained with Warriors! If you notice Miami, Lakers are having health issues, and the quick restart to NBA season having a toll on body.
I think the Lakers will repeat, but 22 Lakers, Nets, Philly, Clippers, and others will be a dog fight!
Don’t crown the Nets or Lakers anything. Drummond is no match for the Joker. He can’t make a FT so he is a liability there. Philly will be a real test for the Nets. But they have 4 bugs to throw at Joel.now.
The West has a lot of potential contenders. The East is pretty weak, though, and seems like it is basically a three team race, but any one of the Sixers, Nets and even the Bucks could make it to the Finals. After those three there is a large drop-off, though.
Don’t sleep on Mia
I don’t view the Heat as a very real threat to make the Finals this season.
Happy to see they got this deal finalized quickly. I’m never quite at ease until these things are finalized. Aldridge committed to the Nets but that took an extra day to be official. You just never know what can happen.
I guess the Celtics are gonna try and win with no bigs
Idea: NBA taxes the buy-out at 100% value to go to small market teams. Then the decision is about playing time, not money.
Also let teams in reverse standings order have a chance to take the player. All the tanking teams would pass – and those players would go to playoff bubble teams like the Bulls, Hornets, Hawks, Pels etc…
I think the union might have something to say about that, meaning they probably would want it to be something more like, teams with most cap room pick first, then second-most cap room. The players want to maximize salaries. Likely, in this situation you might end up with the same result — Knicks could have paid more , but Drummond chose to go to L.A.
I am ambivalent about this. I have the same emotional reaction when the same teams get all the buyout guys, but in the 90s when everybody wanted to play with MJ, it didn’t bother me a bit. 8)). So, I think Al’s point is well taken, you have to build a winner and then free agents will come to you. If your organization seems incompetent, you will not get top talent. Who wants to work for idiots, even at a high salary?
Can he really make an impact?
All this talk about titles and an unfair buy-out system and Jabbar and pictures of Shaq and for cryin out loud Chamberlain. Funny but still more smh than lol. Drummond is slowminded and unconcerned. It seems like he could be quick enough and want to win but that would be pleasing to see and he can’t have that going on.
The trade deadline has passed; this is the misfit market.
Lebron will make a deal with him for half a year to do certain things and not others and then he will be off. Fortunately for the Lakers, LJ is large and has made arrangements about influence.
Lakers will likely boost their seeding with Drummond, who will be more entertaining than Gssol, then…?
The Knicks are the dumbest franchise in the history of mammals. All they had to do was spin the Cavaliers one 2nd rounder.
Drummond can now go on a playoff run. First time ever. Lakers got the Big they needed. They do well it will help Drummond get a deal as a FA. He’s not staying with Lakers since all they can offer 20% over salary. Not much when you are making minimum. He’s good for now. But Lakers need Bron n AD healthy for playoffs. If I was a conspiracy man, which I’m not. One could think NBA wants the Lakers vs Nets in Finals 2021.
Drummond should start practicing mid range shot, 15 footer is okay.