Report: The Los Angeles Lakers Are Interested In Trading For Blake Griffin And Andre Drummond. Which Player Should The Lakers Pursue?
The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly expressed interest in trading for former All-Star Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. With both players having completely different financial situations, the Lakers will have difficulty trading for the former teammates. However, their interest in both big men is most likely due to Anthony Davis being sidelined for 2-4 weeks. Davis is a significant contributor to the Lakers success hence and will struggle until he comes back. Even though Kyle Kuzma will most likely be the starting power forward until Davis comes back, Kuzma is not the same player he once was.
The Lakers losing Anthony Davis in such a pivotal time in the season is unfortunate. With the Western Conference being overwhelmingly competitive, every game this season matters for a competing team. The Lakers expressing interest in both Drummond and Griffin is understandable but clustered. Los Angeles already has a decent selection of big men to temporarily replace Anthony Davis until he returns. These options include Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol, Markieff Morris and even LeBron James. Trading for one of these former All-Stars will make the Lakers rotations much more clustered as they would have to aid five big men in a nine to ten-man rotation.
Even though Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond would be great fits for the Lakers style of basketball, trading for one of them would be challenging. Blake Griffin is currently on the last year of his contract with a player option that he can choose to opt into or decline. This is one of the main reasons Detroit will find it impossible to trade Blake unless many draft picks are attached. With the Pistons not looking to contend for many years from now, the best option for them is to either buy out his contract or wait it out. As for Andre Drummond, NBA teams view him as a double-double machine that will never impact wins. Even though Drummond is efficient at what he does, his playstyle is old school and is not that valuable in today’s game despite being the best rebounder in the NBA. In theory, trading for him would be simple as he is viewed as a player with little to no value. A decent player and a second-round pick is all an organization needs, which is why many teams across the NBA are interested in Drummond. However, the Lakers challenge is finding a way to match salaries without giving up essential assets like Dennis Schroder or Montrezl Harrell, who would most likely be the top options as far as matching the contracts.
Although it may appear impossible, there is a way for the Lakers to receive one of these players. Andre Drummond is an attractive option at the center position as he is undoubtedly the best rebounder in the NBA. However, the Lakers would simply lose too much for half a season of Drummond, making him not a viable option leaving Blake Griffin. General manager Troy Weaver mentioned in an interview that the Pistons will work on facilitating a resolution in what Blakes future is with the Pistons. If that means a trade or a buy-out, the Pistons are already working on somehow moving on from the Griffin era. If the Pistons do buy-out Blake’s contract, it would be an effortless signing for the Lakers due to how horrible of a start Blake has had to this season.
At this point, Andre Drummond is the better player between the two, but it would be virtually impossible for the Lakers to trade for him unless they are willing to give up significant role players. LA’s best option is to wait until the Detroit Pistons buy out Blake Griffin’s contract as no organization would trade for the fallen star unless young assets or draft picks are involved from Detroit’s side.