Getty Head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls.
It’s never too soon to start thinking about the future. For the Chicago Bulls, that means making some tough roster decisions.
One player whose future is less clear is backup and fill-in starting center Andre Drummond.
“The Thunder are already battling for the top seed in the West,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote on January 29. “While it’s incredibly likely OKC will be in this position … for years to come, the Thunder should still look to make improvements to the roster.
“The addition of Drummond addresses one of the Thunder’s lone weaknesses, defensive rebounding.”
Marks suggested this hypothetical trade scenario to get Drummond to Oklahoma City.
Bulls get:
– Aleksej Pokusevski
– 2025 second-round pick (via PHI)
– 2027 second-round pick (via PHI)
– 2027 second-round pick (via MIN)
Thunder get:
– Andre Drummond
Pokusevski, 22, was the No. 17 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Like classmate and Bulls forward Patrick Williams, Pokusevski has come along slowly – he was the youngest member of their class. This season, he is averaging 1.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in just eight appearances.
The 7-footer averaged 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in that span in over 21 minutes per game over his first three seasons to seeing just six minutes per game in 2023-24.
Pokusevski is also up for a new contract.
He is in the final year of his four-year, $14.3 million rookie scale contract with a $7.1 million qualifying offer in restricted free agency this summer. With one enigmatic prospect in Williams already on the roster, the draft capital might be a stronger selling point.
Bulls Might Be Wise to Explore Andre Drummond Trade
The Bulls are already trying to trade Zach LaVine. And while the futures of Alex Caruso and Nikola Vucevic are secured for at least one more season, DeMar DeRozan also hits unrestricted free agency this coming offseason. The Bulls would like to bring him back too.
But Drummond, a two-time All-Star, is in the final year of a two-year, $6.6 million contract.
He strongly considered opting out of the second year of that contract this past offseason, with designs on joining Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, and he has drawn trade interest.
Rather than lose him for free this offseason, the Bulls could look to recoup some value at the trade deadline with Marks’ hypothetical scenario.
They signed Vucevic, whom they like, to a three-year, $60 million contract this past offseason, to some consternation. But when called upon as a starter in place of Vucevic, Drummond has delivered.
Andre Drummond: ‘I’m a Starter in This League’
Drummond, 29, is averaging 7.8 points and 8.5 rebounds this season, appearing in all 47 of the Bulls’ games this season. He is averaging 14.0 points and 17.4 rebounds in seven starts this season.
Drummond has said he still feels like a starter-caliber player and has the production to back up his claims.
“Come in each and every day prepared for if my number’s called. Any opportunity, I just try to seize it,” Drummond said via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic on December 26. “My mentality is that I’m not a backup. I still believe I’m a starter in this league. But the position I’m in now, I take it and play to the best of my ability.”
Perhaps a trade would be best for Drummond and the Bulls.