NBA: Detroit Pistons Star Center Clears The Air On Free Agency Rant

Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons caused a mild stir recently when he said that he was excited to hit free agency next summer. The ninth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft can opt out of his final year and is expected to be one of the big names that teams will be pursued by several teams.

Drummond was responding to a reporter and mentioned that he was going to be a free agent next summer. Some took his comments in a different way and made it appear that he was really opting out of his deal with the Pistons.

"Yeah, it should be fun, I'm excited. I think I'm the only one that has a big contract coming up that year," said Drummond in that interview.

Aware that his response was taken in a different way, Drummond took the liberty of addressing it through his social media account. He made the response via his Instagram account.

“For those who are confused about my comment about free agency let me break this down ... My point was I’m excited to go thru the process because I never been thru it, doesn’t mean I’m trying to leave Detroit . I love it here,” he wrote.

While Drummond seemed to mean nothing by his comments, it does put him a bit in the spotlight. And while he did not officially say he was opting out (although it is the likely scenario), critics will keep track of his performance for the Pistons this 2019-20 NBA season. Considering it will also be a year that other teams will take note of, the 26-year-old is expected to use the coming season as an audition of sorts to up his value.

Drummond has the choice to opt in with the Pistons and make $28.7 million next season in Detroit. Depending on how he performs, those digits could increase if stands out. He has already proven that he can be a legit double-double machine. He holds career averages of 14.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in 542 games, clearly big numbers that any NBA team would benefit from. The question now is will it be with the Pistons or somewhere else?