NEWSLETTER
Someone find me the Joker “And Here We Go” gif. Because, well, here we go. Trade rumors incoming …
Exactly three weeks out from the NBA trade deadline and The Athletic’s Shams Charania has dropped some pretty surprising news on the Bulls’ potential plans. According to the NBA insider, the Bulls have expressed interest in Cavaliers center Andre Drummond:
The Bulls have registered interest in Drummond, sources said. Cleveland has had some exploratory calls on Drummond, but skepticism remains on whether the team can find a desirable trade. The center is owed $28.7 million this season.
More than two weeks ago, Cleveland decided to bench Drummond permanently after he appeared in 25 games with the intention to seek out a trade partner. From what the lack of developments since would suggest, the organization has had a tough time finding potential suitors. Owed $28.7 million this season before hitting free agency, Drummond’s contract isn’t the easiest one to take on, especially for a contending team. Likewise, while Drummond’s Basketball-Reference page might make some salivate by eyeballing the stats, the guy is far from today’s “ideal” big man.
The main reason I can picture the Bulls sniffing around here is because they have Otto Porter’s contract sitting in their back pocket. The veteran forward is owed a similar $28.4 million this season, and is likewise an impending UFA, so a simple player-swap could work out nicely, at least from the Bulls’ perspective. After all, the Bulls most likely see Andre Drummond as a player who can at least stay on the court in a playoff push, while Porter is an endless question mark.
The other reason the Bulls might be interested in Drummond is simply because they want a bigger body to balance-out their rotation. Daniel Gafford has not proven he can be the consistent, more physical presence off the bench. We also know Luke Kornet and Cristiano Felicio are never going to check that box.
I do want to reiterate the disclaimer of sorts on Drummond, though: Don’t fall for his stats. The big man might average 13.8 rebound and 14.6 points on his career, but he comes with his fair share of weakness. As elite as it seems like he could be in the paint, his effective field goal percentage has struggled to break 53 percent since his second year in the league. In fact, over his 25 games this season, Drummond was shooting a career-low 47.4 percent, which ranked in the 9th percentile. More specifically, he was shooting only 52 percent at the rim (6th percentile), and his shooting numbers at the basket have only finished better than the 37th percentile once since 2014. When we consider he basically has zero jump shot, that is very concerning.
Defensively, he also doesn’t offer as much as meets the eye. Drummond’s defensive rating was second-worst among centers who appeared in 40 or more games last season, per NBA.com. The guy can block the occasional shot, but he isn’t some kind of elite presence, and he can be heavily exposed when brought outside the paint. I mean, just look at how furious analysts were when he shockingly got one vote for DPOY last season.
The point being: We shouldn’t expect the Bulls to make a hard push for Andre Drummond. While he may offer them a type of player they don’t currently have, he doesn’t fit the kind of two-way talent this front office and coaching staff has indicated they want to build around. He is an elite rebounder, but a team that is currently ranked 15th in REBs per game and 10th in REB% is not going to go all out to improve that one skillset. I have to imagine the Bulls front office just sees an opportunity to swap one player with another, and that will continue to be the driving force behind any negotiations. Would that be enough to make the Cavaliers shake hands in a year they aren’t competing anyway? Probably not. So this might not go anywhere.
