Chicago Bulls: 3 players to avoid in free agency this offseason
1) Chicago Bulls free agent targets to avoid: Andre Drummond
No matter what Karnisovas and Eversley do for the Bulls in this cycle of free agency, they should do their best to avoid any potential target that’s going to blow up their cap sheet unnecessarily like veteran center Andre Drummond. This towering 6-foot-10 and 280 pound center is still just 27 years old, but he’s likely to get another big payday in this cycle of free agency.
Drummond has a player option that he could pick up this offseason, that is for a little north of $28 million. The 2020-21 season would then be the final year of the life of his current contract if Drummond were to pick up his player option heading into this cycle of free agency.
The problem for Drummond if he opts in to this player option is that he likely would see a dramatic pay decrease in the fruitful 2021 cycle of free agency. If there’s any team willing to give him north of $15-20 million this offseason, then he’s most likely to take that deal and opt out of the final year of his current contract.
Drummond just got done in his inaugural season playing for the Cavaliers, after the Pistons dished him out at the trade deadline. Between his time with the Cavaliers and Pistons during the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Drummond played in 57 games (starting in all but one of them). And he averaged 17.7 points per game, an NBA-leading 15.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks. Drummond shot 53.3 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 57.5 percent from the free-throw line.
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The Bulls aren’t really going to have enough cap space this offseason to work in a deal for the likes of the two-time NBA All-Star selection and four-time rebounding champ Drummond. A return to Cleveland might be on the table for him, or going to another team with more free cap space than someone like the Bulls.