NBA News: Lakers Free-Agent Center Playfully Hints Move To China As Alternative

Andre Drummond has no clue on what his NBA future holds as he enters free agency.

He is expected to draw suitors although staying with the Los Angeles Lakers is an option.

Seeing how the Lakers do not have the resources to offer him a lucrative deal, the chances of seeing the 6-foot-10 center return to Los Angeles will be subject to several factors.

But if the Lakers or any other team do not pique his interest, Drummond may have hinted at a potential alternative.

“Shanghai, China” was what Drummond suggested when he appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast.

The response drew some playful comments from viewers. That included suggestions that LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers join the All-Star center in China.

The 27-year-old was just playing around, especially when one of the commenters said “Oh, your career’s going that bad?”

Drummond ended up laughing–especially the part when it was insinuated he would join the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association and then see Lakers coach Frank Vogel going after him.

It was a light moment for Drummond as he ponders on what lies ahead. Although it has been suggested that he and the Lakers have a mutual interest in retaining their working relationship. However, the numbers just do not add up.

In a previous post, Drummond said that he would have gotten better numbers had he been given the right playing time by Vogel.

However, it was later revealed that the criticism was all part of a marketing ploy for his NFT collection that came out on July 9.

Although Drummond and the panelists were playing around, the comments on social media had a field day giving their takes.

Some batted that if Drummond was serious, he should take James with him to China.

James and the NBA have gotten criticism for their ties with China.

A study showed James was one of the most abused individuals on Twitter, with 122,568 abusive messages on the social media platform between June 2020 and June 2021. That is an average of 336 messages per day.