Andre Drummond Speaks on Cavs-Pistons Trade, Future Contract and NBA Hiatus

Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond remained diplomatic about the trade that ended his seven-and-a-half-year run with the Detroit Pistons. 

In an interview with SB Nation's Michael Pina, Drummond said the move was one of the realities of playing in the NBA:

"For me it was just a part of the game, a part of the business, and I just happened to be falling into it, so it was definitely a different experience for me. Do I have any hard feelings for Detroit? No. Do I have anything negative to say about it? No. Because at the end of the day that was home for me. And they’ve always been good to me, so I have nothing negative to say about that. I’m in Cleveland now so that’s all I can worry about now."

The two-time All-Star has a $28.8 million player option for the 2020-21 season, with Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor reporting April 16 he's likely to opt in for next year.

Drummond is having another monster season on the boards, averaging an NBA-high 15.2 rebounds, though his production has declined slightly (11.1 per game) since his trade to the Cavaliers.

He told Pina he has yet to make a final decision because the COVID-19 pandemic has halted any long-term planning for the time being. He also explained how the NBA's indefinite hiatus and the general emphasis on remaining indoors has affected his daily routine:

"The past few weeks, it's been crazy. Just not doing anything, locked in the house and really not knowing what's going on. So I think the unknown is probably the most crazy thing for me right now. I'm getting a ton of time to spend with my family, which is really good for me. Obviously you don't normally get to spend so much time with loved ones, so that's been good. But other than that it's kind of just a waiting game right now."

One consequence of the pandemic for a player in Drummond's position is that his option might be looking better now than it did earlier in the year.

Whether the 2019-20 season restarts in an abbreviated form or is canceled altogether, the NBA is going to absorb a massive financial hit, which will then reverberate when the time comes to calculate the 2020-21 salary cap.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in January the league was projecting a $115 million cap.

With the impact of the pandemic becoming more clear, The Athletic's John Hollinger and Danny Leroux estimated the cap could fall by $8 million. Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report wrote "a drop of $10 million to $15 million is not outside the realm of possibility."

Getting an annual salary to match what he could earn with his player option was always going to be tough for Drummond given how the market for traditional centers has declined. Opting out still might make sense because he would be sacrificing short-term gain for long-term security.

Now, though, teams might be even less inclined to put a big multiyear deal on the table for the 26-year-old. That's to say nothing of how a lower salary cap would depress the value of max contracts, since those are tied to specified percentages of the cap.

Even if the NBA returns to business as usual for 2020-21, the fallout from the pandemic could extend well beyond next season.