Andre Drummond will seemingly be traded again a little over a year after he was shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs announced a week ago they will be sitting Drummond as they work out a trade.
Something that didn’t sit right with Draymond Green.
Here's video of the Draymond Green rant in regards to Andre Drummond. pic.twitter.com/ZrqxaSfszD
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) February 16, 2021
But the decision was made after discussions between Cavs’ GM Koby Altman and Drummond’s agent, Jeff Schwartz.
It was only a matter of time until Drummond found his way out of Cleveland.
Even after being acquired by the Cavs last year, many people expected him to be flipped at the deadline.
However, the Cavs never heard an offer they liked and decided to keep the 27-year-old center on the roster.
The other factor why Drummond wasn’t traded by Cleveland last year was his contract.
Any team trading for him would’ve been on the hook for nearly $29 million this season – the final year of Andre’s deal.
And with most teams attempting to clear the books to sign potential free agents, there was a small market for Drummond’s services.
That is not the case this season.
Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, there are reportedly 8-10 teams interested in acquiring the big man.
Here are three teams that would be great fits for Drummond, either through trade or after a buy-out.
Charlotte Hornets
First up is the Charlotte Hornets.
The team currently sits in 7th place in the Eastern Conference at 14-15.
3rd-overall pick LaMelo Ball has received much of the attention for his electrifying playmaking and better-than-expected shooting.
But Gordon Hayward is returning to form he last displayed in Utah and Terry Rozier is beginning to live up to his contract.
Charlotte is looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
And win their first playoff series since 2002.
They have a trio of talented young guards in Ball, Rozier, and Devonte’ Graham and depth at the wings in Hayward, PJ Washington, and Miles Bridges.
But they severely lack talent, depth, and size at the 5.
Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombo are clearly not cutting it on a playoff contender.
Zeller leads the team at 7.8 RPG and the team is 29th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage.
Drummond would immediately address that need.
For his career, he averages 13.8 RPG and is right in-line with that number this year at 13.5.
He is a big body in the paint who would allow the Hornets to better match up against Joel Embiid and Domantas Sabonis.
Zeller, Biyombo, and Malik Monk would provide matching salaries and open up a spot in the rotation for Drummond.
Charlotte would also get a trial-run to decide if they want to re-sign him in the offseason.
Boston Celtics
Boston is a team that has thus far fell short of preseason expectations.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are both having career years but have received little support.
Kemba Walker has appeared in only 14 games and is shooting 38% from the field for 17.2 PPG.
The team signed Tristan Thompson as a free agent to help bolster the frontcourt along with incumbent Daniel Theis.
But the combination of the two has had little success as Thompson is limited on offense and both lack the size to hang with bigger players like Embiid and Sabonis.
The C’s are 25th in defensive rebounding and middle of the pack in both offensive and defensive rating.
Drummond helps in all of those areas.
Similar to the case outlined with the Hornets, Andre is a big body who is an elite rebounder and decent scoring option the paint.
He would bulk up the interior and allow Theis to slide into the backup role (assuming Thompson is included in any trade).
The Celtics have needed to add size for years now, and Drummond would provide immediate help.
Brooklyn Nets
The last team is one that would need to hope for a buy-out.
The Brooklyn Nets could not take Drummond’s salary and don’t have the contracts to send out to match.
They would need to hope he gets bought out and they could sign him to a prorated contract for the remainder of the season.
Brooklyn immediately became Final’s favorites when they traded for James Harden.
But the trade saw the Nets lose their best center in Jarrett Allen.
Now, maybe the Nets don’t want Drummond – they already had the chance as the Cavs were included in the Harden trade.
But he would be a major upgrade over DeAndre Jordan on the glass and on defense.
The Nets do not need any more offense as Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving have that covered.
They rank 26th in defensive rating, 22nd in offensive rebounding percentage, and 19th in defensive rebounding percentage.
Harden is the Nets’ leading rebounder at 8.2 RPG and the team is 20th in the league in rebounding.
Drummond would bring much-needed size and rebounding acumen to a team with title hopes.
NEXT: Can The Cleveland Cavaliers Make The 2021 Playoffs?
