The Los Angeles Lakers signed the biggest name on the buyout market this season in former all-star center, Andre Drummond. While Drummond certainly has his detractors, there is no debate that he was the most prolific name on the market.
Signing Drummond was such a smart move for the Lakers because of what the team needed as well. This was not the case of simply getting the best player available. The Lakers filled a serious need at the center position with the best option available.
Things have not starting quite how the Lakers would have hoped, though. Drummond has struggled a tad offensively and several interesting quotes have spawned as a result.
Kyle Kuzma said that Drummond is struggling because he has never been coached, which is an interesting thing to say about a multiple-time NBA all-star. Drummond himself even said something that revealed the biggest problem the Lakers have, which could come back to haunt them.
Drummond is averaging 9.2 points in five games with the Lakers. He is shooting 45% (extremely low for a center) and has an Offensive Box Plus/Minus of -6.9 (also really bad).
However, the Los Angeles Lakers should not be worried about Andre Drummond’s slow start.
First of all, it is an insanely small sample size. Nearly every player in the NBA is going to have a bad stretch of five games.
However, there are more compelling reasons as to why the Los Angeles Lakers should not be worried about Andre Drummond’s performance. Let’s get into why.
1. LeBron James is only going to make Andre Drummond better
LeBron James is one of the greatest passers of all time and is someone who has consistently made his teammates better throughout his career. Everyone knows how great LeBron is and how he is defying father time, but his best trait is that he can do all he does while making those around him better.
More specifically, bigs have played far better with LeBron James. Just think of all of the bigs that have played with LeBron James and found their footing or played the best basketball of their careers.
It started back in Cleveland with the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. Chris Andersen looked better when he played in Miami with LeBron. Tristan Thompson played great in Cleveland and has not been the same guy without LeBron.
Ivica Zubac finally hit his footing when LeBron James became his teammate. He has continued strong play for the Los Angeles Clippers, but he was not on the map until LeBron. Heck, look at Dwight Howard. His career was essentially over until DeMarcus Cousins tore his ACL and now he is a big role player on another contender.
Whether it is the focus that LeBron draws in double teams, the way he drives and kicks to a big, or his ability to throw a picture-perfect lob, his game benefits bigs perhaps more than any other position on the court.
And thus, I would not be surprised if we saw the most efficient play of Drummond’s career.
2. The Los Angeles Lakers don’t need Andre Drummond to be a big offensive threat
This is important to remember. It is easy to hone in on Drummond’s play right now because he is the new kid on the block and is the biggest name playing for these banged-up Los Angeles Lakers.
The reality of the situation is that the Lakers don’t need him to be a big offensive threat. He does not even have to be the third scorer, or fourth, or fifth. While he will obviously be in the mix on certain nights, the Lakers have plenty of offensive options.
LeBron and AD are obviously the 1-2 and will be worth 60 points a night in the playoffs. Next is Dennis Schroder, who should be good for 12-15 a night in the playoffs. Montrezl Harrell will get his 12-15 off the bench and Kyle Kuzma could even give the Lakers 10-14 points off the bench in the playoffs.
That is already 94-104 points accounted for. Granted, every night is going to be different, but those guys are going to be the five that produce the most offense. That is not Drummond’s role with this team.
Drummond is in LA to protect the rim and give the Lakers someone who is more consistent in finishing at the basket when needed and rebounding the basketball. He is not here to score 15 points a night. He is here to get 8-10 points and 10-12 rebounds.
In fact, I would argue that the fewer points Andre Drummond scores the better. If we look back at the 2021 NBA Playoffs and Drummond is averaging 16+ points a game then that probably means the Lakers never got healthy.