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On Thursday, the NBA’s 3 p.m. EST trade deadline came and went without the Brookly Nets pulling the trigger on any deals. For all the hype, for all the chatter in the lead-up to the deadline, the Nets stood awfully quiet.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t dip into the buyout market in the coming days.
Andre Drummond, the top prize to be won on the buyout market, will be available soon; the Cleveland Cavaliers are working with Drummond on a buyout agreement after failing to find a trade partner for the him prior to the deadline, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
No surprise there.
What was surprising, though, was an omission on the list of teams that are in the mix for the 27-year old center’s services.
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Nets Reportedly out on Drummond?
On Wednesday, during a trade deadline preview edition of his podcast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski didn’t explicitly say the Nets had great interest in Drummond, but he implied as much.
“Both LA teams are expected to have great interest, the Brooklyn Nets, of course, they’re trying to gather up every former great player in the buyout market,” Woj said.
The plot thickened late Thursday when Haynes reported that Drummond will listen to pitches from five teams: the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets. The glaring omission there, of course, is Brooklyn.
Once he’s bought out by the Cavs, Drummond will be free to sign with a playoff contender. His $28.8 million salary this season made finding a trade partner difficult.
But in an appearance later on TNT, Haynes did include the Nets as a Drummond possibility, though not as one of the teams with which he will meet.
Drummond, who has led the league in rebounding four times over his nine NBA seasons, is averaging 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in 25 games for Cleveland this season. The 6-foot-10 center hasn’t played since February 28 as the Cavs have worked to find an exit plan for him.
Drummond became an expendable asset for the Cavs upon their acquisition of Jarrett Allen in the four-team trade that landed James Harden in Brooklyn. He’ll hit unrestricted free agency this offseason.
The Nets have two exceptions, the mid-level exception and disabled player exception (which they received after Spencer Dinwiddie suffered a partially torn ACL), at their disposal.
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Who Could Nets Target?
If the Nets are indeed out of the Drummond sweepstakes, who else could they make a play for in the buyout market? There’s plenty of fish still out there, and two names especially stick out.
New York Times reporter Marc Stein listed Memphis’ Gorgui Dieng and Sacramento’s Hassan Whiteside as potential candidates to reach a buyout with their respective clubs. Both could be impactful additions for the Nets, who stand to benefit from the signing of a defensive-minded big man.
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