A trade deal could help the Chicago Bulls land a star before the 2020 trade deadline. Should that star be the Pistons center Andre Drummond?
The Chicago Bulls and current Detroit Pistons standout center Andre Drummond seem like an interesting mix up front. But the Bulls do need to land a star ASAP, even though 24-year-old shooting guard Zach LaVine is doing well to rise to the occasion. Although, most Bulls fans have realized by now that LaVine is not going to be a primary scorer that leads this team to playoff prominence.
Moreover, an intriguing fix would be signing a potential free agent next summer like Drummond. But pulling off a trade for him might be jumping the gun. The Bulls do have a lot of valuable trade chips to work with in terms of young and promising players and future draft assets. Getting rid of those for a big man like Drummond that has found no playoff success thus far in his NBA career seems like a bad move.
According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, the Pistons and Atlanta Hawks have discussed a trade to send Drummond to the Peach State. It’s beginning to look like the Pistons are going to blow it all up and start from scratch since the frontcourt pairing of Drummond and star power forward Blake Griffin didn’t get them very far.
The six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA honoree Griffin is posting a player efficiency rating barely above 12.0 this season. It’s hard to believe he’s fallen so far after having a tremendous 2018-19 season.
Yet, the Pistons could be focusing on Drummond and selling on him while his stock is high and his contract is expiring, instead of trading Blake. While Griffin might be on the move soon, selling on Drummond while his stock is high makes a lot of sense.
So far this season, Drummond is averaging 17.6 points per game, 15.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, while shooting 53.7 percent from the field and an improved 61.4 percent from the free-throw line. Drummond is also averaging an impressive 2.0 steals per game and 1.8 blocks.
This might be the fourth season where Drummond is the rebounding champion and where he gets his third All-Star selection. If he finishes strong, he could also get his second All-NBA selection.
All these accolades would be nice for Drummond, but it doesn’t make his one-dimensional offensive game and unproven play in the postseason worth it for the Bulls. They need a star that will help out either in the backcourt or on the wing, if at all possible.
After losing to the Boston Celtics on Jan. 4, the Bulls move to a record of 13-23 on the season. They do need help, but this will be a limited trade market in the spots where they have positional needs. It might be worth a more patient approach, instead of jumping at the opportunity to land a player like Drummond before the 2020 trade deadline.