NBA trade grades: Pistons trade Andre Drummond to Cavaliers for Knight and Henson
By Duncan Smith
(Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Detroit Pistons traded Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers for expiring salaries and a future second-round pick. Here are their NBA trade grades.
Andre Drummond‘s eight-year tenure with the Detroit Pistons has come to a close. On Thursday afternoon, just minutes before the trade deadline, the Pistons traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brandon Knight, John Henson and a 2023 second-round draft pick. Here are the trade grades for the deal.
Drummond has been on the market for over a month since Pistons’ owner Tom Gores begrudgingly admitted he was open to a new direction for the franchise. He’s been linked to just about every team that needed a big man, so it’s wildly amusing that he got traded to a team that does not, in fact, need a big man.
He’ll play on a team with Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love, neither of whom were traded on Thursday, and apparently neither of whom will be bought out in the coming days. Naturally, this is a situation that could change as time goes on, but as things stand now, Drummond, Thompson and Love will be teammates for at least the rest of this season.
The Pistons clear space and avoid the possibility that Drummond will opt into his 2020-21 salary of $28.75 million. It gives the Pistons the flexibility to pick a direction, and with Drummond gone the opportunity to finally choose one other than the current path they’re on.
It’s a bizarre deal, especially from the Cavs’ perspective.
Let’s get to the grades, starting with those same Cleveland Cavaliers.