Andre Drummond has a tricky free agency on the horizon. The center for the Detroit Pistons has a gigantic player option for next year, but he’s made it clear that he wants to decline it and enter the relatively weak free agent marketplace. While centers are expected to have skills that Drummond does not possess, his ability to inhale rebounds, block shots, and operate as a lob threat makes him an appealing option for teams that have a hole in the middle.
One such squad is the Atlanta Hawks, and according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, they’re been “engaged in talks” with the Pistons about a potential move for the big man ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Wojnarowski notes that there are a handful of teams that have interest in Drummond, and that there’s a sense that his impending free agency makes him available in a trade.
Detroit and Atlanta have been engaged in talks on a trade centered on Andre Drummond, league sources tell ESPN. No deal imminent, but Detroit is talking to Hawks and several other teams on Drummond, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 3, 2020
Drummond has a $28M player option for next season that he is unlikely to exercise, forcing the Pistons to consider possibility of losing him in free agency. Among teams, there's an increasing belief that Drummond will be moved before February 6 trade deadline. https://t.co/s4PDchLVWV
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 3, 2020
The Hawks are a bit of a unique squad heading into next summer, because in addition to having a hole at center that Drummond could fill, Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights projects that they’ll have approximately $75.8 million worth of cap space, which is more than enough to give him the big payday he would assuredly want. And as Wojnarowski pointed out, moving Drummond could give Detroit some pieces as they have one eye on a Blake Griffin-led future.
There are certainly questions about whether making a trade for Drummond is a good move right now for Atlanta, especially since the team is in last place in the Eastern Conference and it would be tremendously difficult to make a late-season charge for a playoff spot. But if there is a market for his services, it seems like the Hawks would want to join a few other teams in the race to land the league’s most prolific rebounder.
