One of the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest acquisitions for the 2020-21 season came right in the middle of it when they signed center Andre Drummond off of the buyout market. Drummond played 26 total games for the Lakers this season including the playoffs but appeared to build a good off-court rapport with Anthony Davis and other Lakers players.
Ultimately, the Lakers never got to see the full on-court potential of Drummond, as injuries to other players like Davis hampered just about every chance he had to build chemistry. Drummond even ended up being a DNP coach’s decision during the Game 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns that eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs.
Despite that, Drummond had nothing but positive things to say about his time with the Lakers in 2021. “I think overall this year I had an incredible time in the short stint that I was here. There was a lot put on me when I first got here. A lot for me to learn, a lot to catch up on and a lot to make up for. Two of the best players hurt and just trying to figure out an entire team with little time to help adjust to a playoff run.
“I think I’ve learned so much just being around the coaching staff and my teammates. An incredible group of guys we have here. We’re looking forward to building more with them.”
When asked if this was a hint that he was planning on re-signing in L.A., Drummond wouldn’t commit to anything either way. “That’s not what I said (laughs). We have a lot of time for that. Offseason is around the corner, so when that time comes around we’ll have those discussions.
“That’s something I have to digest. The season just ended last night, so it’s just something I have time to think about right now. Right now my focus is just spending time with my kids and decompressing this long year that I had. I’ll refocus on that when the time is right.”
The Lakers — due to salary cap limitations — are not allowed to pay Drummond more than approximately $6 million this offseason. That right there could be the reason why the center is not back with the team. However, if Drummond’s market is extremely limited and the Lakers want him back, then there is a chance for a reunion.
It’s unclear what the Lakers center rotation will look like in 2021-22, but if Drummond is in there, he’ll be excited to unleash his full potential alongside Davis and LeBron James.
Davis can play alongside any big man
While Davis definitely enjoyed having Davis, he knows that there’s a chance he won’t be back. He got ahead of this by saying he would be willing to play alongside anybody at the center position. “We had two bigs last year in JaVale and Dwight. This year we had a stretch big and a big that plays in the paint so I think I can play either-or. We had Marc and I was playing the paint and then with Drumm I was playing on the perimeter.
“So I think my ideal big is whatever works, whatever fits our team. That’s ideal for me and we’ll draw schemes and things like that to make it work.”
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