NBA Rumors: Lakers Plan To Keep Drummond Beyond Current Season; Reason For Leaving Cavs Bared

The Cleveland Cavaliers ended up settling for a buyout with Andre Drummond, who is now with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Initially, most thought that the 6-foot-10 player was too much to keep for the Cavs after this season. It appears there was another reason.

For the past years, Drummond has been known to start for any team. Given that he is a bonafide double-double machine that any team would love, albeit more than enough to field him in the starting lineup any night.

However, that may still be subject to approval. Some teams prefer to give their young stars more playing time to see if they could be the future stars of the franchise. That appears to be the case between the Cavs and Drummond.

According to Jake Fischer of the Bleacher Report, this was what the Cavs had planned for Drummond. Unsurprisingly, it was something the two-time All-Star was not interested in, and the rest is history.

Cleveland wanted to see how well Jarrett Allen could fit as the team’s starting center which the 27-year-old was not fond of.

This somehow explains why the Cavs sat out Drummond in February, which led to trade talk. There were no takers and a buyout was the end-result. As most know by now, he has joined the Lakers, where he is in a good position to possibly win an NBA ring.

The Lakers do need a man in the middle, making Drummond a perfect fit. Also, he may not be pressured to deliver big numbers, considering they also have LeBron James and Anthony Davis in tow.

But for now, Drummond will have to pick up the load with the two main stars out of action due to injuries.

Drummond was officially introduced and pumped up to help the Lakers this season. He is reportedly set to start as the starting center for Los Angeles, ironically something that he wanted to keep with the Cavs.

If the words of head coach Frank Vogel holds, it appears the Lakers plan to keep him beyond the current NBA season, ESPN reported. Drummond will become an unrestricted free agent regardless if Los Angeles clinches their second-straight title this year.

"The summer will play out, and we'll let that happen when it happens. But we want him to help us during this championship run this season, but we're hopeful that he's a Laker for a long time to come. That's what we're envisioning, that he's gonna be a key piece for us, both in the short term and the long term,” Vogel stated.