NBA Trade Rumors 2017: Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson Could Be Among Players Dealt In Offseason

With the 2017 NBA Finals coming to an end, trade rumors are beginning to heat up. The latest bit of news involves the Detroit Pistons, who are exploring their options with the team’s best players.

Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reported Thursday that Detroit is gauging the trade market on both Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. There were rumors that the Pistons might make a deal at February’s deadline, and it appears that they are still willing to part with one of their top players in recent years.

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Drummond has emerged as one of the NBA’s best young centers, being named to the All-Star team in 2016. He became the first Detroit player to make the team since Allen Iverson did it in 2009. After leading the league with 14.8 rebounds that year, he averaged 13.6 points and 13.8 rebounds for the 2016-2017 season.

Being a double-double machine, however, hasn’t helped Detroit win many games. Detroit had their best season in eight years in 2016 with 44 wins, but they were swept in the first round of the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No.8 seed. The Pistons went 37-45 without a postseason appearance this past season.

Drummond signed a five-year, $127 million contract extension last summer. Detroit reportedly had exploratory discussions with the Toronto Raptors regarding Drummond during the regular season. The Brooklyn Nets also discussed a possible trade with the Pistons, according to ESPN.

Talks involving a trade for Drummond never seemed to get very far, but ESPN reported in February that Detroit made a big push to deal Jackson. The Pistons reportedly had serious negotiations with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, though nothing ever materialized.

Detroit acquired Jackson in a three-way trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz before the 2015 deadline, dealing D.J. Augustine, Kyle Singler and two second-round draft picks. Along with Drummond, Jackson had the best year of his career when the Pistons reached the playoffs in 2016, averaging 18.8 points and 6.2 assists per game. His numbers dropped to 14.5 points on just 41.9 percent shooting and 5.2 assists in the 2016-2017 season.

Jackson and the Pistons agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract in the summer of 2015.

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Drummond and Jackson are among the biggest names that could be traded in the 2017 offseason, though a few perennial All-Stars could potentially be dealt. New York Knicks president Phil Jackson has made it clear that he wants to trade Carmelo Anthony, and there is speculation that the Indiana Pacers could deal Paul George as he enters the final year of his contract.

Drummond isn’t the same caliber of player as George, though he might have close to the same value because of his contract. Any team that trades for Drummond would be able to keep him for at least the next three years before he’s able to opt out of the final year of his deal. George is expected by many to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent in the summer of 2018.