NBA free agency 2016: Andre Drummond, Pistons near five-year deal
The Detroit Pistons and restricted free agent center Andre Drummond are nearing an agreement on a massive five-year deal
Perhaps the biggest name to technically be among the players entering NBA free agency this summer is center Andre Drummond. The Detroit Pistons big man became a restricted free agent when the calendar turned to July 1, but there wasn’t much buzz at all considering that the Pistons were going to have the chance to match any offer sheet that the big man out of UConn would sign.
It’s looking like the center won’t even have a chance to sign an offer sheet, though, as the Pistons have acted quickly in securing arguably their greatest asset.
According to a report from ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Pistons and Andre Drummond are close to agreeing upon a five-year deal that would pay the big man approximately $130 million over the length of the contract:
Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons are nearing agreement on a five-year max deal in the $130 million range, league sources tell ESPN
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2016
This shouldn’t truly come as a surprise to anyone at this point considering that the Pistons were going to match any offer. They want to make their potential superstar happy and signing him to this type of max contract and not even letting him test the waters is a great show of faith from the organization.
Now the Pistons are looking like a potential dark horse in the Eastern Conference once they do lock up Drummond. They agreed to terms with Ish Smith early in free agency to fill one of their biggest needs int he backcourt rotation and added a big man to stretch the floor in Henry Ellenson in the 2016 NBA Draft. Considering that they made the playoffs last year and are only getting better, things are looking up in the Motor City.
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