Getty Andre Drummond #3 of the Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls boast a pair of All-Star centers and one of them is drawing attention ahead of the trade deadline on February 9.
“The Lakers have also considered dealing for players who could address specific needs in a potential playoff matchup,” wrote ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on January 23. “Such as Andre Drummond of the Bulls, in anticipation of a postseason rematch with the Denver Nuggets and their big front line of Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, sources said.”
Drummond, 30, is in his second season with the Bulls.
He is averaging 7.6 points and 8.4 rebounds this season. His modest stats belie the impact he has had when he’s on the floor. But Drummond is also averaging 14.0 points and 17.4 rebounds in seven games as a fill-in starter for the Bulls in Nikola Vucevic’s absence.
“My mentality is that I’m not a backup,” Drummond said via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic on December 26. I still believe I’m a starter in this league.”
The Bulls are 4-3 in games that Drummond started this season.
In the final year of a two-year, $6.6 million contract, Drummond will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Perhaps it would behoove the Bulls to explore the market for the big man rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.
Proposed Trade Sends Bulls’ Andre Drummond to Lakers
Jason Timpf of the “Hoops Tonight” podcast offered up a proposal that would send Drummond in a package along with former Laker-turned-trade target Alex Caruso to LA. The Lakers would in turn send Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood, and their 2029 first-round pick.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reported that the Lakers want to keep Hachimura in his intel from January 15, though. And the Bulls have long been against moving Caruso.
But this hypothetical would still see Drummond rejoin the Lakers and nab the Bulls some picks.
Bulls get:
– Jaxson Hayes
– 2024 second-round pick (via LAC)
– 2025 second-round pick
Lakers get:
– Andre Drummond
Drummond spent 21 games with the Lakers in 2020-21. He averaged 11.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks.
The Lakers signed Hayes, 23, is in the first year of a two-year, $4.6 million contract. He is averaging 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds this season and has been removed from Head Coach Darvin Ham’s rotation.
That could make teams squeamish about his $2.5 million player option for next season.
Bulls Focused on Trading Zach LaVine
The Bulls’ main focus has been trying to move two-time All-Star guard Zach LaVine. But the remainder of his five-year, $215 million contract in addition to a history of knee injuries have left his market barren.
It’s a similar story for fellow stars, Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, though the latter could be attractive to a contender if made available in the final year of a three-year, $81.9 million deal.
And Vucevic’s contract – three-year, $60 million – is easier to trade than LaVine’s.
Meanwhile, players like Caruso and Drummond are generating interest. If the Bulls want to do something, it might mean dealing away one of the two. That probably won’t lead to the type of return they hope for with their goal of remaining competitive though.
The Bulls have a two-game lead over the Atlanta Hawks for ninth in the Eastern Conference standings.
A pivot toward the future might be off the table for this regime.