According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kobe Altman’s leftovers from last week. I mean John Henson, Brandon Knight, and a future 2nd round pick.
A lot of Cavs fans seem to be questioning this move, as the Cavs are still in a rebuild and decided to buy at the deadline, but I love this pickup. It’s a perfect move for Cleveland moving forward.
First off, unless any wild changes happen, no big-name free agent will be coming to Cleveland the summer. I’d love to see DeMar DeRozan suited up in the wine and gold, but I don’t see that happening. Now Cleveland has someone with a player option for 2020-21, and nowhere else to go. The only other team that could take on his max-contract would be the Knicks, and I hope the Cavs are slightly more enjoyable than the Knicks.
The next big issue for the Cavs is Tristan Thompson’s contract. Thompson might be bought out by the Cavs by the end of the day, but if not, his contract will be out by the end of the year. Cleveland needs to make some cap space with three high-priced contracts but would be in a good spot once they move on from Tristan.
Maybe Kevin Love will gel with Thompson and he won’t hate being here anymore, and maybe they can be mentors for our young core. Sexton, Garland, and Porter Jr. need mature leadership guiding them in their development and maybe Drummond will be able to be that leader. With another lottery pick coming into the fold next year, they’ll need all the leaders they can get.
So maybe Drummond won’t work out here in the Land, but at this point, what do we even have to lose?
Drew Thirion is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network website. Follow him @Drew_Thirion on Twitter.