Andre Drummond Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Drummond, Jackson, Vaughn

October 21st, 2015 at 9:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s a credit to the relationship formed between Pistons owner Tom Gores, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, and center Andre Drummond that all parties would agree to hold off on signing an extension to allow the team to retain more cap space heading into next offseason, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “I will tell you I’ve learned from conversations that we had we’re really giving ourselves the flexibility to build this team up and do the right things to get us where we need to be,” Drummond told reporters. “I’m just ready to prepare for the season, and whenever that time comes again, I’ll be prepared for it.”

Drummond’s willingness to put his future payday on hold impressed Van Gundy, Ellis notes. “As much as Andre wants to be here, he desperately wants to win and wants to be part of a contender and wants us to have the flexibility to continue to add people to this team,” Van Gundy said. “He has a great relationship with Tom — a very open, honest, trusting relationship. They spend a lot of time talking about this. I think it shows Andre’s maturity and leadership that he would step forward and put the team ahead of himself.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Reggie Jackson, who re-signed with the Pistons this summer for five years and $80MM, has a stake in whether or not Drummond remains in Detroit, Aaron McMann of MLive.com writes. “He’s a big reason, reason 1A-1B, I went solely into staying here,” Jackson said. “He was always on me about making sure I signed. So I’m just trying to make sure everything’s going in the right direction to still be here and try and make a lot of memories.“
Jackson also relayed that he and Drummond spoke privately about the center’s decision, and the point guard called it a big one for the big man’s future, McMann adds in the same piece. “It’s a mature move either way,” Jackson said. “Whatever he decides is what he decides. I just would love to know that I have this guy with me during my tenure being here, wearing this red and blue. I just want what’s best for Andre. I want what’s best for his career. I definitely want him to be here and I want to make a lot of memories and a lot of highlights in the Palace and bring back this city.“
Bucks rookie shooting guard Rashad Vaughn has been turning heads with his stellar preseason play, and he may turn out to be the steal of the 2015 NBA Draft, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “He plays with a great demeanor,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He doesn’t get up too high and doesn’t get too down in the things that he’s done. He is showing that he deserves time to play and he’ll get it. … At 19 years old, he’s very mature. He acts a lot older on the court and off the court.”
The Cavs finally struck a deal with Tristan Thompson today, as we passed along earlier. See the details here.

Pistons, Andre Drummond Not Planning Extension

October 20th, 2015 at 12:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andre Drummond wants to wait until next summer to talk contract with the Pistons instead of signing an extension before the November 2nd deadline, Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters today, including Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). The lack of an extension will give the Pistons more than $12MM in additional cap flexibility for next summer, Langlois notes (Twitter link). Regardless, Drummond has been likely to get a new max deal with the Pistons, whether through an extension this fall or a new contract in restricted free agency next summer, as Ellis recently explained to Hoops Rumors.

“Andre wants to be here long term,” Van Gundy said, according to Langlois (Twitter link). “He … wants us to have the flexibility to continue to add people to this team.”

Pistons owner Tom Gores referred to Drummond this past spring as a “max player,” so it’s clear how much the team values the Jeff Schwartz client. At issue is the size of his cap hold, which will remain at $8,180,228 until he signs a new deal. The projected maximum salary for a player with Drummond’s years of experience for next season is $20.4MM, and if Drummond were to sign an extension this fall, that number would count again the cap for the Pistons, limiting their flexibility. Keeping him unsigned allows the Pistons to sign others and then follow up and sign Drummond, or match any offer sheet he signs with another team, via Bird rights. The Spurs pursued a similar path with Kawhi Leonard this summer, allowing them to sign LaMarcus Aldridge. Leonard re-signed with the Spurs for five years at the max after Aldridge signed his contract with San Antonio.

Van Gundy cited $12.7MM as the amount of extra cap flexibility the Pistons will reap from delaying a deal with Drummond, Langlois notes (Twitter link). That’s perhaps an indication that either the Pistons, the league or both foresee a slightly higher than projected cap for 2016/17, since the difference between Drummond’s cap hold and the current projected max is only about $12.2MM.

In any case, the Pistons were willing to let Drummond decide whether to do an extension, as Ellis wrote this summer. Initially, it appeared that he wanted to go ahead with a deal this fall, and that seemed the likeliest outcome, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors wrote when he looked at Drummond’s extension candidacy. Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago, a former Pistons beat writer, hears that ex-agent Arn Tellem, who joined the Pistons organization as an executive this summer, worked to convince Drummond to delay his signing (Twitter link).

The danger, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe points out, is that Drummond signs a short-term offer sheet that would allow him to hit free agency sooner than the Pistons would like (Twitter link). Still, Van Gundy cited Drummond’s trust in Gores, Langlois notes (on Twitter). The team has consulted Drummond on almost every major move, and Gores and Drummond see themselves as partners, Ellis tweets.

The Pistons already have about $42MM in salary commitments for 2016/17, and that number will rise to more than $48MM if they pick up their team options on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock. The salary cap is projected to rise to $89MM next season.

Do you think waiting until next summer to do a deal is a wise choice for both sides? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

And-Ones: Extensions, Kentucky, Lakers

October 11th, 2015 at 10:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Pistons do not seem overly concerned about maximizing on cap space and waiting to the summer to strike a deal with Andre Drummond and it’s more likely than any other potential extension other than Harrison Barnes that the center secures a lucrative extension this month, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Stein adds that Barnes is also likely to receive a large extension from the Warriors before the league’s deadline for rookie-deal extensions on November 2nd. Stein points out — as we at Hoops Rumors have consistently mentioned where applicable as well — that the window has been pushed back two days (it usually is October 31st).

The Wizards have an opposite approach from the Pistons and instead are hoping to convince Bradley Beal to hold off on a new deal until next summer because the delay could lead to Washington having nearly $10MM in additional salary cap space next summer when it intends to make a run Kevin Durant.

You can view our Extension Candidate series by clicking here.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Rasual Butler likely must beat out Jimmer Fredette and Reggie Williams, among others, for the Spurs‘ final regular season roster spot, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News writes. Butler, 36, knew what the odds were when he signed with the Spurs last month, McDonald adds. Butler, as McDonald points out, has played for five teams since the start of the 2010/11 season.“Some of us have to work a little harder, and you have to be OK with that,” Butler said. “You have to pick your lunch pail up and go to work if this is what you love do to.”
All 30 teams scouted Kentucky’s pro day, Adam Zagoria of SNY.TV reports.
Matt Brase will finish the preseason with the Rockets before taking over as coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their NBA D-League affiliate, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes in a worthwhile profile. Brase was announced as the Vipers’ new coach in August.
The Lakers are hopeful rookie Marcelo Huertas, whose $525,093 contract isn’t guaranteed, can stabilize the second unit, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times details. Huertas has been unable to practice because of a hamstring strain, Pincus adds. “He’s a very, very good floor leader,” Lakers head coach Byron Scott said. “He’s a gutsy, pesky-type guy. He doesn’t back down. He’s going to try to guard you to the best of his ability, and he’s a guy that can make plays for you.”

Central Notes: Drummond, Felicio, Cavaliers

October 1st, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons center Andre Drummond is cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances heading into the 2015/16 campaign, John Niyo of The Detroit News writes. “I feel like now is the time for us to really do what we set out to do every year,” said Drummond. “We say we’re gonna do one thing, and then one thing leads to another and we don’t do it. But I feel like now, this is our time. We’re on the rise, and we’re gonna do it.” The young big man declined to make a specific prediction for Detroit’s fortunes in 2015/16, but he did say, “It’s just words until you do it. I hate losing. I can’t stand it. It’s the worst feeling. People laughing at our team, that’s not a good feeling. I want to rub it in somebody’s face that we’re a great team.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

With the Bulls already carrying 13 players with fully guaranteed deals, power forward Cristiano Felicio, who is in camp on a non-guaranteed pact, could be a victim of the numbers game in his quest to make the regular season roster, but the team is extremely high on his potential, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets. Coach Fred Hoiberg raved about how strong the 23-year-old is, Johnson adds.
Cavaliers coach David Blatt said that the team intends to carry the maximum of 15 players on its regular season roster, so all of the camp invitees have a shot at making the final cut, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).
Expect Kevin Love to have a more prominent role in the Cavs‘ offense this season, McMenamin writes in a separate piece. LeBron James noted that Love’s importance to the team was illustrated after Love went down during last year’s playoffs with an injury, McMenamin adds. “I think him being out showed even more of what he means to this team, more than him being on the floor for those three and a half games,” James said. “It would’ve been huge for us obviously if he was in the lineup, but it gave him the opportunity to put things in perspective and see what his presence can mean to our team. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to see how important you are.“
The addition of Steve Blake, who came to the Pistons via a July trade with the Nets, makes perfect sense given the uncertainty surrounding the health of Brandon Jennings, who isn’t expected to return to action until December, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “It’s exactly what we wanted,” president/coach Stan Van Gundy said. “A guy that’s good enough to come out and be your everyday backup and mature enough that, when Brandon comes back, that if there’s not as much or any minutes there, can handle that role.“

Pistons Notes: Drummond, Van Gundy, Morris

September 27th, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The question of whether to grant Andre Drummond an extension will be key for the Pistons, who would like their cornerstone center to delay signing until next year, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Drummond is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the Pistons have just more than a month to sign him to an extension in the five-year, $120MM range, Mayo adds. If not, he can become a restricted free agent next summer. The reason the Pistons would rather Drummond wait to sign, according to Mayo, is because until Drummond actually signs his contract, only his cap-hold figure of about $8.2MM would be factored into the Pistons’ 2016/17 payroll for salary-cap purposes, not the $21MM he actually figures to make that season. Mayo’s entire list of things to watch is a worthy read.

Here’s more out of Detroit:

With only three players still remaining on the Pistons from May 2014, which was when Pistons president/coach Stan Van Gundy was hired, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press runs down all of the teams’ moves since then.
Van Gundy, in an interview with Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, said he understands why Marcus Morris would be upset, but also adds that the situation should not be an issue going forward. Morris has bruised feelings toward the Suns after being traded away and separated from his brother.

Extension Candidate: Andre Drummond

August 24th, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons owner Tom Gores made it clear before the end of last season that there would be no haggling over money in negotiations with Andre Drummond. Gores declared publicly in April that Drummond is a “max player” and it seems as though every move the franchise has made recently is designed to build around the 22-year-old center. The only mystery regarding Drummond is whether he’ll receive an extension before the end of training camp or if he’ll come to terms on a new contract next summer.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

A maximum contract for the Jeff Schwartz client would be a projected $20.4MM starting salary with maximum raises of 7.5%. A four-year deal would put $90.78MM in Drummond’s bank account. He could also receive a fifth year if the Pistons make him their Designated Player, giving him a projected $117.3MM over the life of the contract.
In the highly unlikely scenario that Drummond wins the MVP award this season, he would qualify for an even greater max deal triggered by the Derrick Rose rule with a projected starting salary of $24.9MM.

It was already apparent from Drummond’s rookie season that the Pistons had been gifted a franchise player when he slid to the No. 9 selection in the 2012 draft. Only two All-Star talents — Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard — were selected ahead of Drummond, who played one inconsistent season with the University of Connecticut before turning pro. He quickly established himself as a ferocious rebounder in his rookie season, grabbing double-digit boards in 16 games before the All-Star break despite limited playing time. A back injury sidelined him most of the second half but a 29-point, 11-rebound performance against the Cavs in April of that season showed what he could do when healthy.

He’s turned into a double-double machine over the past two seasons, averaging 13.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in his second year, followed by a 13.8/13.5/1.9 slash line last season. His 21.5 Hollinger player efficiency rating and 21.4 Basketball Reference PER placed him among the Top 25 players in the league last season.

Drummond, who will make $3,272,091 this season, is still just scratching the surface of his potential. His low-post game is still in the development stages — he’s a 35% shooter from 3-10 feet in his young career — and he’s a woeful 39.7% free throw shooter. That makes him a target for getting intentionally fouled when opponents are playing catchup or trying to slow the Pistons’ momentum.

Those weaknesses won’t affect Drummond’s contract situation. The main reason why an extension may not get done this year is to provide flexibility for the front office next summer. If Drummond holds off on the extension, the Pistons will have more cash to spend to make whatever improvements are necessary. The Pistons are projected to have anywhere from $5.7MM-$38.0MM in cap space next summer, depending on how coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy manages his roster decisions.

There is inherent risk involved for both sides to delay the process. Drummond’s incentive to sign by November 2nd (the usual October 31st deadline is pushed back a couple of days because it falls on a weekend) is to get the guaranteed money before a potential significant injury could affect his long-term value. The Pistons’ incentive to get the deal done is to keep their franchise player as happy as possible and that’s the approach they’re taking, as Van Gundy confirmed in July that extension talks would begin this summer.

Leading up to those negotiations, Van Gundy continued to construct his team around Drummond’s talents, much like Orlando’s roster was built around Dwight Howard when Van Gundy coached the Magic to an NBA Finals appearance in 2009. He re-signed point guard Reggie Jackson to a whopping five-year, $80MM deal to be Drummond’s pick-and-roll partner for years to come. He traded for a stretch four, Ersan Ilyasova, to pair up with Drummond in the frontcourt after concluding that the duo of Drummond and Greg Monroe, a low-post power forward, clogged up the middle. Monroe wound up signing with the division rival Bucks as an unrestricted free agent. Van Gundy also upgraded at small forward by acquiring Marcus Morris and drafting Stanley Johnson.

So while the Pistons could put themselves in a better position to make trades and sign free agents by waiting to lock up Drummond next summer, the more likely scenario is for Drummond to sign on the dotted line and get the most important order of business for both parties out of the way before the season starts.

And-Ones: Cavs, Raptors, Pistons

July 12th, 2015 at 11:03pm CST by Will Joseph

Cavs GM David Griffin told reporters, including Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group, that he is interested in re-signing unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith and restricted free agent Matthew Dellavedova. “In Delly’s case, the restricted free agency is a totally different process,” Griffin said. “With J.R., I wouldn’t want to characterize the discussion or anything, but he’s a player I’d like to have back. We just have to find a way to make it work.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Raptors have hired Andy Greer as an assistant coach, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Greer, who previously was an assistant with the Bulls under former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, will run the Raptors’ defense.
The Raptors let a leftover sliver of the Steve Novak trade exception expire Friday. It was initially a $3,445,947 exception created when Toronto sent Novak to Utah on July 10th, 2014. The lion’s share of it went toward the acquisition of Luke Ridnour last month, a move that failed to be of much efficacy for the Raptors, who simply waived Ridnour this past Thursday.
The Pistons plan to proceed with finalizing Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80 million contract later this week or early next week, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters including David Mayo of MLive.com. At around the same time, Gundy plans to address the topic of Andre Drummond‘s contract extension, Mayo adds. The Pistons expect to lock Drummond into a long-term extension, Mayo writes, though they would have about another $15MM in cap flexibility in 2016/17 if the 21-year-old center agrees to wait until 2016 to sign rather than inking an extension this summer.
Free agent guard A.J. Price, who was formerly with the Suns, is mulling a move overseas and might land with Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter).
Anthony Randolph has decided to return to Russia and the former NBA forward re-signed with Kuban, Pick also tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Rumors: Drummond, Butler, Pacers

July 12th, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons will begin extension talks with center Andre Drummond this summer with the aim of signing him to a long-term deal, most likely for the max, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons want to lock up their franchise player even though they could have more flexibility to sign free agents and make trades next summer by waiting to re-sign him when he’s a restricted free agent, Foster continues. The incentive for Drummond is to get the guaranteed money now in case he suffers a significant injury, Foster adds. Money is apparently no object to get an agreement. “We have until the end of October so we will get into those talks in the next couple of weeks,” Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said during a press conference. “What you are talking about there is more timing than anything. It is not like you will be haggling over dollars, so it is a different situation.”

In other news around the Central Division:

Van Gundy admitted he took “a little bit of a gamble” with his commitment to point guard Reggie Jackson, who has never started a full season, John Niyo of the Detroit News writes. Jackson, a restricted free agent, agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal without any options to be the team’s floor leader going forward. Van Gundy wanted to have Jackson for the long haul. “You’ve got to weigh in future years,” Van Gundy told the Detroit media. “Most of the guys who signed free-agent contracts [this July], they’ve got an out after year three or four. We were willing to pay more money to not have the out.”
Jimmy Butler received a $4.6MM signing bonus when he re-signed with the Bulls, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Butler stayed put with a five-year deal worth approximately $95MM. A 5% trade kicker is another element to the contract, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Pacers will use cap room to re-sign guard Rodney Stuckey since they renounced his non-Bird rights, Pincus reports. They also renounced their rights to Andrew Bynum, David West and Luis Scola, among others, Pincus adds (Twitter links). Stuckey agreed to a three-year, $21MM deal to remain with Indiana.

And-Ones: Drummond, Farmar, Mekel

July 6th, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons could reap greater cap flexibility for next summer if they wait until then to sign Andre Drummond as a restricted free agent instead of giving him an extension this summer, but the team will leave that choice to the Jeff Schwartz client, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Drummond reportedly wants an extension, so it would seem it’s a strong bet he’ll end up with one before the October 31st rookie scale extension deadline. Here’s more from around the NBA and related circles:

Jordan Farmar has signed with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team announced (hat tip to David Pick of Eurobasket.com). Agent Tony Dutt searched for NBA deals for the point guard who spent part of last season with the Clippers, but found nothing, as Pick hears (Twitter link).
Maccabi Tel Aviv management pushed for the deal with Farmar, while the coaches were higher on former Mavs and Pelicans point guard Gal Mekel, according to Pick, who earlier reported that Mekel and the team had a verbal agreement on a three-year deal with NBA out clauses (Twitter links). However, fellow Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem is still pursuing Mekel, who remains in talks with teams from the NBA and Europe, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss clarified in a radio appearance on KPCC-FM last week that this past year was the first on brother Jim Buss‘ three-year window to guide the team to at least the Western Conference Finals, as Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Jim Buss would resign his job as executive VP of basketball operations if the Lakers aren’t back to that point by the end of the 2016/17 season, his sister said.
The Lakers, Heat, Knicks, Suns and Pelicans have expressed interest in Justin Hamilton, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The Timberwolves elected not to retain the right to match offers for him when they decided against making a qualifying offer.
Serge Ibaka failed to meet an incentive worth $100K this past season, so his cap hit for the Thunder for this coming season shrinks by that amount, to $12.25MM, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). That’s unlikely to matter for the Thunder, who are expected to be well above the cap and exceed the tax line. Ibaka’s salary for tax purposes will be determined based on the bonuses that he either triggers or doesn’t trigger this coming season, whereas last season’s figures only affect his cap number.
The Nuggets are hiring German national team coach Chris Fleming, former Magic assistant Wes Unseld Jr., and Kings assistants Ryan Bowen and Micah Nori as assistants to new head coach Michael Malone, reports Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. They’ll join Bulls assistant Ed Pinckney, who’s also reportedly joining the Denver coaching staff.

Andre Drummond Seeks Extension With Pistons

June 29th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andre Drummond wants to sign a rookie scale extension with the Pistons this summer, reports Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter). Drummond is eligible to sign one between the end of the July Moratorium next week and October 31st, and if he doesn’t, he’ll be set for restricted free agency next year.

The news isn’t altogether surprising, though it indicates that the Jeff Schwartz client likes the direction the Pistons are headed and wants to firm up a commitment as soon as possible. There were persistent whispers about the center’s level of contentment in Detroit, as TNT’s David Aldridge wrote in January, but presumably Drummond has become more comfortable since then.

Pistons owner Tom Gores called Drummond a “max player” in April, likely setting the table for negotiations this summer. The max is expected to surge right along with the salary cap next year, so an estimated starting salary would be nearly $21MM, or about $25MM if Drummond unexpectedly wins MVP to trigger the Derrick Rose rule this coming season. The Pistons can give Drummond a deal for up to five years with 7.5% raises.

Detroit would be able to keep a smaller cap hold, worth only $8.18MM, on the books if it waited until restricted free agency to do a deal with Drummond, though he could sign his qualifying offer or take a short-term offer sheet from another team in that scenario.