Cavaliers to sit Andre Drummond in preparation for trade

The Toronto Raptors appear to be the favorites to acquire Andre Drummond, but these things are always fluid situations. If the Celtics were to trade for Drummond it would come off as a fireworks move for Boston, but I'm not sure how much he'd help them. I think people would like the trade at first. Based on how little the Cavs gave up for Drummond last year, I can't imagine the cost would be much. So on paper it would look like a win.

The problem is you don't win on paper. On paper Greg Monroe and Enes Kanter looked like solid big man adds by Ainge. On paper Tristan Thompson looked like a better signing. This is the issue with all big men who can't shoot from the outside in today's game. If you play them, they will put up stats, but you tend not to win. Drummond has one advantage over the other three in that he can block shots. But his defense has been questioned and he wouldn't be the Embiid stopper you might think he is.

Swapping Theis for Drummond would make the Celtics worse

Drummond would be an upgrade on Tristan Thompson. At least I think he would be. You never know how a guy fits on a team and by all accounts Thompson is a great teammate. The issue is would he even be the Celtics best choice at center? Honestly I think Daniel Theis fits the Celtics system and pretty much all systems in today's NBA better than Drummond. It’s hard to see trading for Drummond and then having him come off the bench though. I suppose you could technically start Andre, but not have him close games (Also should mention he's a sub 60% FT shooter). Complicating matters more is you could rarely if ever play another big man next to Drummond. Maybe you can for short spurts get away with Theis at the 4, but that would hurt you both offensively and defensively. And also you're not maximizing Theis' skills if you're playing him at the 4.

You could never play Robert Williams or Tristan Thompson next to Drummond. Well not unless you were tanking. Ideally all five of your players have 3-point range. But playing two traditional bigs is only a good strategy if you're tanking. Now if the Celtics were to bring in Drummond it would mean that at least one of their bigs was being traded (either in the Drummond deal or in a separate one). You're still going to have a very hard time splitting 48 minutes between three players.

Lastly a Drummond trade would be bad news for Time Lord fans. If you want a shot blocking center then just play the guy on your roster that you have locked in for several years on small money.

Maybe Danny pulls off some 3 way trade where Thompson heads elsewhere and Drummond comes here, with little else leaving Boston. But if that doesn't present himself, then expect Drummond to be wearing another uniform soon, but not of the green variety. And this bears repeating if the net outcome is Drummond in and Theis out, that might be a solid fantasy basketball or NBA 2k21 swap, but that would set the Celtics back.

disqus Post a Comment
Share