When the Los Angeles Lakers initially picked Andre Drummond up after the NBA Trade Deadline the move was viewed as a significant one.
Many immediately began calling the defending champs the clear frontrunners to repeat once more. Montrezl Harrell’s reaction, in particular, went viral.
The rationale for this was obvious – Drummond is a walking double-double.
Unfortunately, because of the all the injuries the Lakers have suffered this year, Drummond has been unable to get on the same page with his teammates. He has been decent, but not great – and that has led to a lot of questions about what will happen this offseason when he hits free agency.
This past week ESPN NBA insider Dave McMenamin appeared on Zach Lowe’s ‘The Lowe Post’ podcast.
While on the show, he gave his thoughts on where Drummond stood with the Lakers, long-term.
“They’ve been so committed to him being the ceremonial starter,” McMenamin said.
“And obviously he gets more than just ceremonial minutes. That seems to be something that is important to Drummond, which makes it important to the Lakers’ front office because they have signaled to everyone listening that this isn’t just a half a season buyout market rental. Andre Drummond is part of the future moving forward with this franchise.”
Ayesha knows how to stay in the news https://t.co/shn4dxsmTZ
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 27, 2021
Drummond’s performance as a Laker can be described as average, at best. In 21 regular season outings with the team he has averaged 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Through the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns thus far he is averaging 9.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Drummond has opened up at length about how being a Laker is different than playing anywhere else. He has also been fairly blunt in his opinion of the Brooklyn Nets and what them winning a title would mean.
How will all this impact whether he opts to leave or remain in LA this offseason? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
