The Los Angeles Lakers signed Andre Drummond after he was bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers late this past season. The Drummond experience never really took off, and by the end of the team’s run, he was not even starting for the purple and gold.
While that may signal the end of Drummond in LA, there is still some value there for Drummond to return, mostly in the regular season. The Lakers desperately need frontcourt depth and Drummond would provide that. And if the matchup dictates that he sits in the playoffs then so be it.
Despite that, it has never felt like Drummond was going to return to the Lakers. One of the reasons that we previously outlined was the money, which Drummond essentially confirmed recently when he told an Instagram commenter that they were drunk for suggesting him to sign a veteran minimum deal with LA.
The Los Angeles Lakers very well could lose Andre Drummond to another team
While I am sure the Los Angeles Lakers want to bring Drummond back in some capacity, it simply is not worth it to get in a bidding war of any kind for his services. That bidding war will be rather small, but that is beside the point.
The Lakers already are strapped for cash and they do not have the luxury of the Bird Rights on Drummond. Unless his market completely collapses, the Lakers are going to lose the bid to another team.
There are several teams to keep an eye on, especially when it comes to signing Drummond on a mid-level exception deal, which is a fair evaluation of his talent.