NBA Rumors: Cavs Future Plans May Be Altered If Drummond Opts Out

The Cleveland Cavaliers have plans to rebuild moving forward but one piece that needs to be addressed is the case of Andre Drummond. The 6-foot-10 center has yet to decide on whether he will exercise his player option or not, something that could dictate what course of action head coach J.B. Bickerstaff must take.

Drummond can opt in and secure himself for the 2020-21 NBA wars. He would earn $28.7 million if he does, something that would make sense. Though he can test the free-agent market, there is no assurance that the two-time All-Star would get the same or higher amount from other teams. A reason for this is the financial hit that NBA teams took due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bickerstaff is clueless about what Drummond plans to do at this point. But if the 6-foot-10 does opt in, he assures that Drummond will be part of the team’s plans moving forward, Cleveland.com reported.

“Indirectly, those conversations have been about the future, what next year is going to look like, how he wants to be part of the team, and how we can use him effectively and all those things. He’s going to make his choice known whenever he’s going to make his choice known. I know he’s made public comments. We’ve had no conversations about him not being here and we’ve been planning for the future with him,” he said.

Drummond has played only eight games so far with the Cavs. This is seen as one of the reasons why management is holding back on handing the All-Star center a new lease. They want to see how well Drummond can maintain his numbers via a longer span.

In the eight games he played for the Cavs, Drummond averaged 17.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 blocks. These are pretty good numbers to show but consistently delivering them seems to be the concern of Cavs management.

Should he opt out, there are teams interested in taking in Drummond. The list includes the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs. These are teams in need of a big man, hinting that the Cavaliers will need to be careful about their plans for the 9th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.