Getty Andre Drummond defending Deandre Ayton.
Andre Drummond appears to have some hard feelings over his playing time with the Los Angeles Lakers last season, which he expressed on social media on Tuesday with a strong comment.
Drummond posted a photo of himself to Instagram on July 6 with the caption: “Don’t judge me until you know me. Don’t underestimate me until you challenge me. And don’t talk about me until you’ve talked to me.”
One of the comments on the post challenged Drummond to play more like Suns center Deandre Ayton and Bucks big man Brook Lopez, who will face off in the NBA Finals.
“I wish you could only dominate the paint like Lopez and Ayton,” the comment read. “Like for real.”
Drummond didn’t like that one bit and quickly fired back with a comment of his own, blaming his lack of playing time and the Lakers coaching staff for his numbers.
“Tell y’all coach play me more and I could,” Drummond wrote in response to the account, which featured lots of Lakers fandom.
Andre Drummond wants more playing time 👀
Drummond published a story shortly after making the comment.
“Responding to trolls be so funny,” Drummond said. “Y’all got it all figured out.”
Andre Drummond
It appears the whole thing could have been a ruse to draw some attention to the NFT he’s putting out on July 9 — an announcement he made on Twitter prefaced with, “While I have your attention.”
While I have your attention ☺️
NFT DROPS JULY 9TH!
CLICK THE LINK IN MY BIO
Skip Bayless went on to call him “Kareem Abdul-Drummond” for the apparent troll move, although it’s fair to say it probably was not worth it.
Kareem Abdul-Drummond.
“I love the internet,” Drummond wrote. “Thank you for keeping me entertained this afternoon.”
😂😂😂 I love the internet
Thank you for keeping me entertained this afternoon 🙏🏽😂
Lakers Gave Drummond Ample Opportunity to Prove Himself
Drummond averaged 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds after joining the Lakers in March following a buyout agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He started all but one game he played with the Lakers, averaging 24.8 minutes. With a talent-packed roster that also included veteran Marc Gasol and offensive sparkplug Montrezl Harrell at the center position, that was ample time for Drummond to be productive. That’s not to mention that Lakers star Anthony Davis also slides over occasionally and plays the center position.
The Lakers made a promise to start Drummond if he signed with them, per Marc Stein of the New York Times. That left the team relatively handcuffed when it came to his role. The only game Drummond didn’t start was the Lakers’ Game 6 loss against the Suns that ended up being their final contest of the year. Drummond did not leave the bench in the game, with Gasol and Harrell seeing the minutes when the Lakers did not go small.
While Drummond sounds like he took exception to his role, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was very complimentary of the two-time All-Star following the season.
“Dre was great for us,” Vogel told reporters, per USA Today. “Let me start by saying that. We’re hopeful that he’s a Laker for a long time. He played well for us, and was a good culture fit. He fit in well with the guys and was very well-liked.”
Drummond Wants to ‘Run It Back’ With Lakers
Something Drummond does value is playing alongside LeBron James and Davis, who he credited with changing his approach to the game.
“I enjoyed my time being here in Los Angeles. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot being alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and just the whole team in general,” Drummond said during an Instagram Live interview in June with Aron Cohen of lakersalldayeveryday. “Their mentality of how they attack the game really changed my perception of how I want to carry myself when it comes to basketball.”
Drummond added that “hopefully” he’ll be able to run it back next year with the Lakers.
“Playing alongside LeBron James is a different ball game. It’s every kid’s dream to play with the best player in the world,” Drummond said. “This is an incredible time for me in my career to have the opportunity to play with LeBron James instead of against him. Hopefully, things go the right way and we’ll try to run it back again.”
Drummond will likely have a small market for his services but has been clear he wants more than the veteran’s minimum if he stays in Los Angeles. Drummond or not, it’s clear the Lakers have a ton to figure out at the center position for next season if they hope to make noise as a title contender.
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