Andre Drummond - LeBron's Robin

[cabs]

He got traded to a team that’s 15th and no hope of making playoffs with 30 games left, he’s playing with no real purpose other than to muck around really.

Next season when every team starts 0-0 we may see him be more team focused and play within the confines of the team.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way we will find out because there’s no chance he opts out of 28mil.

 

[Alec]

In these handful of games with the Cavs, Drummond has not shown up in meaningful ways.

He seems to lose interest pretty quick when he isn't getting his touches. He also gripes too much
on calls/non-calls. And for a big guy who spends alot of time in the paint, he doesn't seem to
deter other teams wantonly taking the ball to the rim. Getting back quicker on defense would
help matters there.

I think the idea of Drummond could be better than anything we see on the court. What good is
a big who is a sub-par defender, has limited range as a shooter and who is starting to make
me cringe a bit when he attempts a pass.

I hope for the best but the Drummond era is off to a rocky start.

You’re largely echoing everything I’ve read from Pistons fans on the web.

 

[Rich]

He got traded to a team that’s 15th and no hope of making playoffs with 30 games left, he’s playing with no real purpose other than to muck around really.

Next season when every team starts 0-0 we may see him be more team focused and play within the confines of the team.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way we will find out because there’s no chance he opts out of 28mil.

Imean you'd think he might wanna try and play himself into the possibility of a big contract or a sign and trade to a better team?

Either way, by far the most positive thing is that he pushed TT to the bench where he's always belonged and TT is thriving there. It's just....we could probably find a better player to do that same thing for way less money.

 

[cabs]

Imean you'd think he might wanna try and play himself into the possibility of a big contract or a sign and trade to a better team?

Either way, by far the most positive thing is that he pushed TT to the bench where he's always belonged and TT is thriving there. It's just....we could probably find a better player to do that same thing for way less money.

He can just do that next season where the contract will take him 1 year deeper into his 30’s plus better teams have cap space next season

 

[Murph]

Thompson seems to play much better coming off the bench. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Cavs were having a dreadful, awful, miserable season before Drummond arrived. For whatever reason, the arrival of Drummond seems to have revived the Cavs and Thompson's career in Cleveland.


It will be interesting to watch the Pistons and Cavs moving forward. The Cavs essentially traded cap space for Drummond. And the Pistons traded Drummond for cap space. Both Cleveland and Detroit are the same kind of small market, cold weather teams that no NBA free agent wants to go to, unless they are way over-paid or have no other options. Let me put it this way Anthony Davis ain't signing with the Pistons or the Cavs.

So who exactly do the Pistons think they are going to sign with all that free agent money? Well, in the past they've been able to sign Markieff Morris, Derrick Rose, Langston Galloway, Jon Leuer, Wayne Ellington, Zaza Pachulia, Boban Maranovic, Jose Calderone, Joel Anthony, Josh Smith, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva….not exactly A listers (with the possible exception of Rose who is fragile). And I would imagine Cleveland would have similar luck on the free agent market.

My point is, for better or worse, Andre Drummond is likely the best free agent that teams like Cleveland or Detroit can attract.

But we will know soon enough who comes out on top of this trade. My guess is that Drummond will pick up his option, and the Cavs will have a much, much better season than the Pistons next year. The Pistons and the Cavs will trade places. In fact, it's already happening. The Cavs are 3-2, while the Pistons are 0-7 since the Drummond trade.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I’m starting to wonder if we should have just stood pat at the deadline and let Henson and knight role off the books at the end of the year. Having to put up with Drummond at least till the Trade deadline will continue to affect the culture building process. I understand a 30M expiring is a good asset, but think, like Love, they are dragging the rebuild done and causing bad team related habits to form in the younger guys.

Yeah, what if the Cavs are better with him on the bench? They're on the hook for $30 million next year for a backup. It's one thing to be paying Exum or Knight $9 million, but 30 is a lot of change for a guy that isn't helping you win.

It looks to me like Drummond is taking this opportunity to try and reinvent himself as a modern center. He's taking 3-point shots. He's grabbing rebounds and dribbling up the floor. He's getting the ball at the elbow and trying to beat his man off the dribble. He sees Nance and Thompson shooting 3's and he wants to do it, too. He wants to fit into the new "pace and space" NBA and not be labelled as a dinosaur from another era whose game no longer translates.

Whether he can reinvent himself and find a place in the new, uptempo game is the question. If he picks up his player option he'll have 30 games this year and 82 next year to work on it before he has to go looking for a new contract.

.....he’s playing with no real purpose other than to muck around really.

I don't agree. He's trying to change his game to fit the new style of play. This is the perfect time to do it. I would just let him go ahead and see where it takes us. It's not like we're fighting for a playoff spot.

 

[Szuch77]

Yeah, what if the Cavs are better with him on the bench? They're on the hook for $30 million next year for a backup. It's one thing to be paying Exum or Knight $9 million, but 30 is a lot of change for a guy that isn't helping you win.

It looks to me like Drummond is taking this opportunity to try and reinvent himself as a modern center. He's taking 3-point shots. He's grabbing rebounds and dribbling up the floor. He's getting the ball at the elbow and trying to beat his man off the dribble. He sees Nance and Thompson shooting 3's and he wants to do it, too. He wants to fit into the new "pace and space" NBA and not be labelled as a dinosaur from another era whose game no longer translates.

Whether he can reinvent himself and find a place in the new, uptempo game is the question. If he picks up his player option he'll have 30 games this year and 82 next year to work on it before he has to go looking for a new contract.

.....he’s playing with no real purpose other than to muck around really.

I don't agree. He's trying to change his game to fit the new style of play. This is the perfect time to do it. I would just let him go ahead and see where it takes us. It's not like we're fighting for a playoff spot.

I agree and think it makes sense for him to utilize this time to reinvent himself as long as its in the parameters of what the team is trying to do during games.

Additionally, I am fine with his $30M contract next year because it could be used as a big expiring for assets. With that said, the two main concerns I have are, Will his contract preclude us from resigning TT. I think he is a good culture guy (who knows though), especially for the young guys. Plus he is continually expanding his game, which I think will be helpful in the future.

Finally, I fear Drummond is not a good culture guy and think he might influence the younger players with his bad habits. For instance, I saw him on TV making fun of Sexton for allowing the ball to go through his hands against the heat while they were in a timeout. The game was tied Sexton clearly pissed and didn’t mean to do that and there was Drummond in the back of the huddle making fun of him with someone else. How about be engaged in the game and seek to encourage the team to overcome. It just didn’t sit well with me and caused me to fear what influence he might have next year. He seems like a less curmudgeonly KLove but still a bad apple.

 

[avs2000]

I agree and think it makes sense for him to utilize this time to reinvent himself as long as its in the parameters of what the team is trying to do during games.

Additionally, I am fine with his $30M contract next year because it could be used as a big expiring for assets. With that said, the two main concerns I have are, Will his contract preclude us from resigning TT. I think he is a good culture guy (who knows though), especially for the young guys. Plus he is continually expanding his game, which I think will be helpful in the future.

Finally, I fear Drummond is not a good culture guy and think he might influence the younger players with his bad habits. For instance, I saw him on TV making fun of Sexton for allowing the ball to go through his hands against the heat while they were in a timeout. The game was tied Sexton clearly pissed and didn’t mean to do that and there was Drummond in the back of the huddle making fun of him with someone else. How about be engaged in the game and seek to encourage the team to overcome. It just didn’t sit well with me and caused me to fear what influence he might have next year. He seems like a less curmudgeonly KLove but still a bad apple.

Maybe he was trying to help sexton with some
Levity. You cant tell from tv

 

[Szuch77]

Maybe he was trying to help sexton with some
Levity. You cant tell from tv

He wasn’t doing it with Sexton. He was laughing and awkwardly clasping his arms together in an uncoordinated way to another player in the background. It’s pretty easy to tell when someone is making fun of someone else.

 

[red.]

Andre Drummond (left calf strain) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the 76ers.
This will only be the fifth missed game of the season for Drummond, but with the Cavs going nowhere fast, it wouldn't be surprising to see the calf issue result in a multi-game absence. Cleveland's next two games come as a back-to-back set, so we'd say Drummond should be considered highly questionable for Friday. Tristan Thompson will likely be returning to the starting unit tonight, and there will be more minutes available for Larry Nance.

 

[avs2000]

He wasn’t doing it with Sexton. He was laughing and awkwardly clasping his arms together in an uncoordinated way to another player in the background. It’s pretty easy to tell when someone is making fun of someone else.

U so smart. You are saying with 100% clarity drummond was mocking sexton ? Your sure of it ? Maybe your right drummond has a history of being a horrific teammate

 

[Murph]

Drummond and Embiid have a history. They have been bickering on the court and over social media for over a year now. The 6ers and the Pistons have been finding excuses to sit one or the other for the last several games so they don’t face each other and escalate their feud.

With that in mind, I’m guessing Drummond’s injury is not serious, and the Cavs are choosing to sit him in a meaningless game against the 6ers and Embiid.

 

[Cavatt]

One team we need him for lol.

I was hoping Tristan's recent play and sitting during crunch time would light a fire under Drummond. Almost wish TT was here next year so Drummond would want to compete for playing time. The more TT gets those crunch time minutes, the more Drummond should want to play the right way and get on the floor.

Minutes are the only real carrot for these guys

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Drummond and Embiid have a history. They have been bickering on the court and over social media for over a year now. The 6ers and the Pistons have been finding excuses to sit one or the other for the last several games so they don’t face each other and escalate their feud.

With that in mind, I’m guessing Drummond’s injury is not serious, and the Cavs are choosing to sit him in a meaningless game against the 6ers and Embiid.

Sounds about right. It will also give Zizic a chance to get some playing time after missing so many games when Plumlee punched him in the head. Maybe they want to see what Z can do against an elite center.

 

[roozy]

The KING of empty stats, I see what Piston fans saw. He does things that make you scratch your head.