Andre Drummond has been a valuable addition for the Nets since being acquired in the James Harden trade, but he understands the arrangement may be short-term, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. Drummond has taken over as Brooklyn’s starting center, averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in 17 games. However, he’s playing on a veteran’s minimum contract that he signed with the Sixers and will be seeking a raise in free agency this summer.
That offer is unlikely to come from the Nets, who are already facing a salary cap crunch with the league’s second-highest payroll, Winfield adds. Considering the situation, Drummond acknowledged that Brooklyn was wise to hold onto young center Nic Claxton at the trade deadline.
“And if we’re all being honest, I’m only here til the rest of the season,” Drummond said. “So who knows what’s gonna happen in the offseason? So they need a guy like (Nic).”
Drummond clarified his comments at this morning’s shootaround, saying he wants to stay with the Nets but the situation is unpredictable, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- In an interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Sixers center Joel Embiid said it was “draining” to have to deal with the Ben Simmons situation, but it forced him to become a better leader. Embiid was often vocal in the media about Simmons’ absence, saying in October that “our job is not to babysit somebody.” “It was a tough situation to navigate and go through (with Simmons),” Embiid told Amick. “Even to this day, I don’t have any hard feelings towards everything that happened. But being in my position, having to answer questions about that whole thing every single day, it was kind of draining. And I’m sure it was draining for my teammates.”
- The Celtics never seriously considered breaking up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown before last month’s trade deadline, but there was talk around the league and among sources close to both players that Boston might pursue that path over the summer, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. There’s no chance of a split following the Celtics’ recent surge to the top of the Eastern Conference, but Fischer states that a few teams had their eyes on Brown in early February. The Sixers would have pursued him if they hadn’t found a taker for Simmons, and Fischer identifies the Hawks and Heat as other potential suitors.
- Celtics coach Ime Udoka said some surgical options could enable injured center Robert Williams to return for the second or third round of the playoffs, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
yeah, lets cut up robs meniscus like brandon roy. run him into the ground like IT.
Kevin Huerter, Danilo Gallinari, Atl’s 2022 1st (13-17) & Atl’s 2024 1st (top10 protected) for Jaylen Brown.. bring this future congressman (GA-5 or GA-13) back home… Boston gets a great young shooter who’s locked in for the next 4yrs (the fact that he’s a likable, semi-goofy redhead will make him a fan favorite from day1). They also get 1 of the best shooting bigs in the game in Gallo, who’s shown that he still has a lot of firepower left in him as a scorer. He’s on an expiring deal & would def give them a big upgrade from guys like Kornet/Theis. They also get 2 1sts including a mid 1st in the upcoming draft. They’d lose a great player in Jaylen but they upgrade their shooting big time while covering all the bases by adding future 1st, a highly regarded rookie, a productive player just entering his prime & a seasoned vet all in 1 fell swoop
Helllll nah.
Gallo can’t play D, Kev is nice but not much better than Fournier.
You have good takes often, but the homerism has blinded you on this one.
Jaylen Brown is a true Unicorn. Forget the 7’+ perimeter players. Everyone wants a 6’7″ athlete with defensive intensity, offensive confidence and aplomb and the motor and attitude to deliver that every single game. He and Tatum aren’t the same player. They’re basically a younger, healthy Leonard and George.
Boston are done collecting first round picks, they now to need to continue putting a veteran, defensive team around the Js.
I love DeAndre Hunter but if it takes Dre to get Jaylen I would trade him.. Hunter, Huerter, Gallo & Atl’s 2023 1st (lottery protected) for Jaylen & Daniel Theis.. with any trade conjecture around Jaylen it should be understood that Boston should only trade him if he asks out. I think being dismissed as 2nd fiddle by the vast majority & the weight of another early playoff exit could possibly lead to him wanting to be elsewhere. Atl would most likely be on his short list & could possibly be the entire list. Dre is an even better fit next to Tatum than Jaylen is. Kev is the perfect complement to Tatum/Smart/White as well. Add in Gallo, who while not a good defender at all is still a major weapon offensively as a floor spacer but also as a guy that can legitimately go get you 20+ on any given night when given opportunities
This makes more sense for both sides. Hunter plus Huerter. I think Boston still turns it down. The H+H combo will make more than Brown who is on a good deal. Boston is very tax conscious and have set themselves up tax wise for the next few years, why mess that up?
Brown, White, Smart, Rob Williams and Grant Williams on below to slightly below market deals. They have a few rookie scale guys in the rotation and adding 1 or 2 hardwork low budget finds like a Dean Wade or Amir Coffey type guy is all that’s needed. Replacing Horford with a Roco/Larry Nance Jr type guy is their only concern.
Dre & Kev combined will make abt $4.5M less than Jaylen next season. That’s about how much it takes to buy out Gallo’s contract. When you factor in Theis’ contract coming off the books they’d be saving a lot of $ next season by doing this deal. After Dre’s rookie deal is over he’ll obv be more expensive but again they won’t be (over)paying Theis any longer so they still come out on top… Again the C’s definitely shouldn’t be looking to trade Jaylen but I think there’s a pretty good chance he gets moved by the next trade deadline
Boston is in win-now mode why would they downgrade for future picks? If anything ATL needs them more
Yeah I just can’t see this happening. If, and that’s a big if, Boston decided to entertain trading Brown I think they would want to get a star back, not a bunch of useful pieces. It would be someone like Beal or Lillard, but even then i don’t see it happening even if they somehow lose in the first round.
Why would they need a star?
OK, what about Luguentz Dort, Derrick Favors, (1 of Bazley, Roby or Poku), (1 of Maledon/Jerome) plus OKC’s 2022 1st (top5) for Jaylen Brown? OKC signals their return to contention & create a core of Jaylen/SGA/Giddey. They could go after a big like Portis/Nurkic/Robinson in free agency & be back in the mix in the West without even having to touch their haul of future picks… Boston would slice a lot of salary while also greatly increasing their depth across the board. They might (or might not) be in a better position to retain Schröder if they do this but Maledon could be a good replacement for him either way. Dort is basically a bigger version of Smart that doesn’t need the ball as much. He’d be a great complement to Tatum on the wing. The big prize would be that top5 pick tho. There’s 5 cream of the crop prospects in this class & if Boston can get into that top5 while also getting young replacements for Jaylen & Schröder that’s something Stevens has to consider
Celtics don’t really have roster issues at the moment. Why are they looking to trade anyone? This feels forced…
I think being dismissed as 2nd fiddle by the vast majority & the weight of another early playoff exit could possibly lead to him wanting to be elsewhere
Brown is a very smart guy, I don’t see him jettisoning a good thing to go and play as a star on another rebuilding team. Does he have any connections to these teams/players that you know of? That could be a factor.
Boston might not look like such a good thing after a 2nd straight 1st rd exit. And even beyond what could be seen as the team regressing or him not being a perfect fit alongside Tatum there’s the fact that it’s gotta make Jaylen feel some type of way to be as overlooked as he is while also being as good as he is. A lot of people (including myself) thought Kobe was crazy for not being content with being the #2 guy on a dominant team. And Kobe was #2 to the best player in the world, who was older & they were on title winning teams. Jaylen is losing his shine to the guy that came in after him & who’s barely better than him if he’s better at all & with Boston’s current injury concerns could be looking at another postseason disappointment. I’m not saying it’s a definite that Boston will lose in the 1st rd or that Jaylen will make waves if they do. But both are very possible
Who is overlooking Jaylen Brown? None of what you are saying is based on fact.
Maybe Trae Young is sick of being on a losing team and forces a trade this offseason to go play in Phoenix after Chris Paul retires…