Andre Drummond posted a photo of himself in Lakers gold, the signal that he was on his way to a team that needs the help in the worst way.
Later Sunday, the Lakers made the move official, the first team announcement in months that didn’t include bad news about an injury.
“Andre Drummond gives us powerful, anchor-point skills on both ends of the court,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “We feel extremely fortunate to add a player of his caliber and magnitude to our core group at this stage of our journey to defend the NBA title.”
This stage of the Lakers’ journey is about to get interesting if not just flat-out dangerous, the team beating the recently detonated Orlando Magic 96-93 before facing the Bucks on Wednesday. From there, they get into the teeth of their second-half schedule, with games against the Clippers, the Heat, the Nets and the Knicks all on the road coming in the next two weeks.
Having Drummond will help, though it remains to be seen how much.
The Lakers beat out a handful of suitors to land the 27-year-old, 6-foot-10 center, with the Boston Celtics perhaps the most serious threat to scoop him up. But the Lakers’ desperation — anyone even a little capable of scoring probably has a chance to make an impact — paired with their high goals once healthy gave Drummond a best-of-both-worlds opportunity to showcase his value ahead of free agency this summer while playing, eventually, for a contender.
Big picture, Drummond gives them athleticism and physicality they haven’t had since last season when they let Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee walk in favor of Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell.
Coach Frank Vogel said he’s spoken with both players about Drummond joining the team.
“We always make sure we overdo communication and be respectful to our players so they know where we’re coming from in everything that we do,” Vogel said before Sunday’s game. “That is the case in this situation, and we’ll keep the nature of those conversations private. But for sure, we’re making sure we’re overcommunicating.”
While Harrell has found his footing as a big-time scorer off the Lakers’ bench — Sunday he had 18 points and 11 rebounds — Gasol has struggled to find rhythm offensively.
Even before contracting COVID-19 and missing nine games, Gasol was having the worst offensive season of a decorated NBA career that’s included three All-Star selections, two All-NBA teams and an NBA championship.
Still, the Lakers have the best defensive rating in the NBA even if things have slipped with Davis and James both out of the lineup, and Gasol’s smarts have played a part in that.
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