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Excitement is palpable around the Los Angeles Lakers as they landed Andre Drummond after he agreed to a buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Drummond had several suitors after his buyout ended, but chose to come to the Lakers, where he will enter immediately and start. The 27-year-old is nearly unstoppable when it comes to grabbing rebounds and has quick hands and feet he can use on the defensive side.
The center has signed a contract for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season, but when asked about his future in Los Angeles, head coach Frank Vogel admitted he would like to see Drummond wear purple and gold in a foreseeable future. “That’s definitely what we’re hoping for,” said Vogel.
“This summer is going to be played out and we’ll let that happen when it does, but we want him to help us in this championship race this season. But we hope he will be a Laker for a long time. This is what we envision and we believe he will be a key part for us in both the short and long term team.
Drummond was also asked about his Lakers future, but decided to focus on today. “For me, I’m just focused on wearing a Lakers jersey right now,” Drummond said. “When the time comes for the next decision, we’ll cross this bridge. But right now my main goal is to help this team win as many games as possible.
Drummond has said all the right things since moving to Los Angeles, but it’s fair to wonder whether or not he will have an interest in staying with the team beyond this season. While retaining Drummond would be ideal, the Lakers will face a tightening of the salary cap ahead of the 2021-22 season.
LA has already committed around $ 123 million in salary to the list, meaning they will only have the mid-level taxpayer exception ($ 6 million) to sign Drummond. The Lakers could potentially make more room to sign him for a bigger deal, but that would require getting rid of most of the roster aside from LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
André Drummond still a rental worthy of a year
While Drummond is likely to go on free agency, removing him from the buyout market was still worth it. It’s extremely rare for players of his talent and caliber to be available mid-season, and he should be able to make an impact as soon as he steps onto the pitch.
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