As expected, Andre Drummond will provide Lakers with reinforcements
Andre Drummond is joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
Another Cleveland Cavaliers legend is leaving The Land to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
Okay, so maybe that’s a gross exaggeration of his time in Cleveland, but just as everyone expected, Andre Drummond is heading to LA nonetheless.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Drummond intends to sign with the Lakers once he clears waivers this evening, following his buyout with the Cavs:
Once Andre Drummond clears waivers at 5 PM ET, he intends to sign with the Lakers, his agent Jeff Schwartz of @excelbasketball tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 28, 2021
Andre Drummond will provide the Lakers with reinforcements
While Gorgui Dieng was arguably a better fit as a more modern, floor-spacing 5, Drummond’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. The Lakers have lost four of their last five games with LeBron James sidelined by a high ankle sprain, and they’ve gone 8-11 overall since Anthony Davis went down with a calf strain six weeks ago.
Los Angeles was first in the Western Conference standings when AD first got hurt, and since then, they’ve slipped all the way to fourth … with the fifth-place Denver Nuggets and sixth-place Portland Trail Blazers hot on their heels, only 1.5 games back. The Lakers haven’t been inspired by the Marc Gasol experience thus far, and while Montrezl Harrell has been putting up numbers, this team needed some size and depth on the interior.
Drummond will provide both, even if he isn’t the most fleet-footed big man. Averaging 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game this season, there’s no question he’ll provide elite rebounding and a nightly double-double for a team that could use some reinforcements for the next couple of weeks.
Again, he’s not a particularly mobile defender, nor is he a boon on offense given the number of post-ups he requires to be successful. But for the next few weeks, with LeBron and the Brow still sidelined? He should be an asset, and the league’s No. 1 defense should be able to cover for some of his deficiencies on that end.
Now we’ll see what the Lakers wind up doing with their second open roster spot on the buyout market.
Next. 5 best buyout candidates for the Lakers. dark