NBA Free Agency 2020: Rumors, Predictions on Andre Drummond, DeMar DeRozan, More

An NBA offseason unlike any other is underway. In a non-pandemic year, the 2020-21 NBA regular season would be starting around this time.

Instead, the 2020 NBA offseason has just begun after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Finals on Oct. 11 in a season suspended four-and-half months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What hasn't changed about this offseason is the wave of free-agency rumors, and you can find a few below alongside some analysis and predictions.

Andre Drummond's Conundrum

Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond has a crucial offseason decision to make regarding his $28,751,774 player option for the 2020-21 campaign.

One rumor that has made the rounds is from Evan Dammarell of Forbes, who reported that the Boston Celtics could be looking at the Cavs big man if he enters free agency:

“ ... If things don't get better it becomes even easier to flip Drummond and his mammoth expiring contract to another team to recoup assets to assist in their rebuild. Teams like the Boston Celtics, the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers all make sense as trade destinations for Drummond, and according to sources, the Celtics are monitoring the situation."

Jared Weiss of The Athletic does not see Drummond ending up as a Celtic:

"Let's get this one out of the way first. Drummond's name suddenly popped up in the rumor mill as someone the Celtics are keeping an eye on in case he and the Cavs can't reach an agreement. There are just too many reasons to dive into why Drummond to Boston doesn't make sense, but the internet is a boundless resource so let's dig in!"

Weiss' primary reason for a Drummond deal with the C's being unlikely coming to fruition is because the big man can simply sign for $28.8 million to stick with the Cavs.

Chris Fedor of cleveland.com asked Drummond about his future decision:

"As of right now, I'm just focusing on what I can worry about. Working on my game. Right now, just worrying about what's happening with the next couple of months, before the season. Whenever it's time to start, and when that time does come to make that decision, everybody will know. Right now, I'm a Cleveland Cavalier. In terms of extending, we will find that out when the time comes around."

Drummond added: "I'm at a point now in my career where I spent the last eight years in Detroit and I'm looking forward to the new start. If it's with the Cavs, fantastic. But I'm not at that point now to even have that thought process."

Traditional big men like Drummond are almost becoming extinct in today's NBA. There are homes for some, like Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, but they are few and far between, and teams aren't clamoring to build franchises around them.

Drummond's previous contract with the Detroit Pistons paid him like a superstar franchise building block. He likely will not get close to $28.8 million in average salary for any future deal. His best bet is to take the option and stay with Cleveland if he can't work out a suitable extension. Either way, look for Drummond in a Cavs uniform next year.

Jerami Grant on His Way Out?

Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant played a key role in his team's drive to the Western Conference Finals, averaging 12.0 points on 47.8 percent shooting and playing some lockdown defense along the way.

Grant has a chance to parlay that performance into a free-agent deal, however, as he can decline a $9.3 million player option.

Mike Singer of the Denver Post reported on Sept. 27 that Grant is expected to do just that, but Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports wrote that the ex-Oklahoma City Thunder forward could be involved in a trade anyway: "One executive theorized a sign-and-trade with Jerami Grant could happen, considering he's expected to decline his player option and enter free agency."

The Nuggets have been involved in trade rumors, perhaps most notably for New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, per Goodwill: "According to sources, around 10 teams are inquiring about his services and one team hot after him is the Denver Nuggets, eager to capitalize on their appearance in the West Finals."

The Pels just added a defensive-minded coach in Stan Van Gundy, and the team needs to significantly improve upon its below average defensive rating. Perhaps Denver and New Orleans could execute a sign-and-trade involving Holiday and Grant, among other pieces.

Regardless of what happens, it's hard seeing Grant in Denver next year, and the guess is he plays elsewhere. The Nuggets are tied up long term with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray's contracts, and they would presumably want to sign Michael Porter Jr. long term if he continues his development and promise from the end of last year. Gary Harris also has two years and nearly $40 million remaining on his contract.

Grant is a better fit for a team with a more flexible payroll looking to improve its defense, such as the Pels, Atlanta Hawks or Charlotte Hornets. Expect him to land with one of those three or another team in a similar boat either via sign-and-trade or free agency, with the best guess being New Orleans.

DeMar DeRozan's Decision

A rumor regarding San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan emerged off an unnamed agent's comments to Ben Standig and Mike Vorunkov of The Athletic in an end-of-season survey to 20 representatives.

"DeMar doesn't like San Antonio and doesn't want to be there," the agent said. That person also speculated that DeRozan could end up with the Detroit Pistons to reunite with his former Toronto Raptors head coach, Dwane Casey.

DeRozan's response to the report, per Mark Dunphy of the San Antonio Express-News, was as follows: "DeRozan responded to the claim in an Instagram post Wednesday afternoon. He shared a clip of a confused Ice Cube with the caption, 'Me trying to figure out when I said that s--t.'"

DeRozan has a $27,739,975 player option for the 2020-21 season, per HoopsHype. He's coming off a season where he averaged 22.1 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game for the Spurs, who struggled to a 32-39 finish last year.

His best bet might be to take the option, play out the season and work toward one last fat contract into his mid-30s. He'll be 32 next August and could still net a multi-year deal if he produces another good season.

A contending team looking for a second or third option could pick up DeRozan and hope for a deep playoff run. He's a solid shooter, adept ball-hander and stout rebounder for a guard.

For now, however, passing up a free $27.7 million might be difficult. The guess here is DeRozan takes the option and strikes it rich once more on a multi-year deal next summer.

News via from HoopsHype's free agency rumors tracker.