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While Marc Gasol appears frustrated with the Los Angeles Lakers signing Andre Drummond, Damian Jones is probably the person hit the most by it. The young center recently got two straight 10-day contracts with the team and started in six of eight games. Once the second deal expired, the Lakers left the door open for a possible return. However, the signing of Drummond quickly closed that door.
Fortunately for Jones, it looks like he’ll be landing on his feet. According to Jason Jones of The Athletic, the plan is for the Sacramento Kings to sign the center to a 10-day contract.
The Kings are in the midst of another disappointing season. They are currently 12th in the Western Conference with a 22-28 record. They already have a solid center in Richaun Holmes, who has started 46 games for them. With Hassan Whiteside a possible buyout candidate, the Kings could be auditioning Jones to be his replacement. He’s an athletic, young center who did make some plays for the Lakers. He could fit in well with the Kings’ young roster.
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Drummond off to Tough Start With Lakers
Drummond’s early days as a Laker haven’t lived up to expectations quite yet. The two-time All-Star only scored four points in his debut and had to leave early after hurting his big toe. He’s already missed two games for the team and could miss more.
“He’s still having trouble putting his shoe on the first two days through it,” head coach Frank Vogel told reporters prior to Sunday’s game. “He’s just not there yet. He’s still in a great deal of discomfort and we want to make sure that this thing gets behind him.”
It’s far from ideal that Drummond is missing time right now. The Lakers are already missing Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The hope was that Drummond could be a guy who helps keep Los Angeles afloat while the superstars get healthy. The injury shouldn’t keep him out much longer but he needs playing time in order to get into game shape and learn the team’s system.
Lakers Hit Hard by Injuries This Season
This season hasn’t been good to the Lakers. Even one of the team’s Day 1 starters have missed multiple games. Marc Gasol and Dennis Schroder missed time due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Anthony Davis and LeBron James have been injured.
The biggest blows have been the injuries to Davis and LeBron. They are the Lakers’ two best players and it’s clear that they are desperately missed right now. Los Angeles is 3-4 since LeBron went down. Things could be a lot worse but the Lakers haven’t even competed with tougher teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Clippers. With that said, they still have one of the best teams around when healthy. Once LeBron, Davis and Drummond are healthy and on the court together, the Lakers will be formidable again.
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