The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled Andre Drummond from Sunday’s lineup and attributed it to giving the big man rest, but it sounds like Drummond may have played his final game with the franchise.
The Cavs are working to trade Drummond and have committed to not playing him again, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst. Cleveland general manager Koby Altman discussed the situation with Drummond and his agent Jeff Schwartz and the two sides arrived at the decision together.
Drummond is playing on a $28.7 million expiring contract, so trading him will not be easy due to NBA rules with matching salaries. Wojnarowski reports that the Cavaliers are gauging the market for Drummond but have not had serious discussions with any team. Cleveland has not entertained the idea of a contract buyout.
The Toronto Raptors are one team that has been mentioned as a potential Drummond suitor. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed that on Monday, citing sources who say the Cavaliers and Raptors have been engaged in active talks about a deal that would send Drummond to Toronto.
Charania also reported that Drummond was pulled from the lineup before Sunday’s game in part because of his “attitude and play” recently.
Drummond is having a solid season with 17.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has also been linked to one other Eastern Conference contender. We can expect trade talks to heat up in the coming days.
