Los Angeles Lakers report: Andre Drummond plans to sign

According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers plan to sign free agent center Andre Drummond when he clears waivers at 5PM EST on Sunday. Drummond fell out of favor with his previous team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, after they acquired Jarrett Allen in a four-team deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.

Not long after the trade, Drummond was relegated to the inactive list while the Cavs worked to find a trade partner for him. No such partner materialized so the organization bought him out, allowing him to take his pick of a number of interested contenders.

Los Angeles Lakers report: Andre Drummond plans to sign

The Lakers beat out the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks for his services, and Drummond will provide some much-needed size and rebounding. Particularly while the Lakers are waiting out injury issues for LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they can benefit from some inside bulk.

A potential championship run could have a big impact on his reputation and his future in the league as well. Drummond is a player who needs skilled playmaking around him to make his life easier and remove some of the marginal decision-making that tends to get him lost in the weeds, and LeBron is perhaps the best in the world at that very thing.

There may have been other locations that would have helped him flourish more from a minutes and impact standpoint, like perhaps the Dallas Mavericks, playing with Luka Doncic. But if he wants to eliminate the empty-calories arguments from his historic rebounding stats, there’s no better place to do that than alongside LeBron James in a championship chase.