The Los Angeles Lakers are officially out in the first round of the NBA Playoffs after the Phoenix Suns eliminated them on Thursday night. While injuries definitely played their part, the Lakers' role players didn't step up when it mattered most. One of them unfortunately was Andre Drummond.
While there were rumors earlier in the week that LA wants to have the former Cavs big man as a key piece of their future, his impact was very small since arriving in April, which angered a lot of Lakers fans. However, Frank Vogel clearly thinks Drummond is still worth keeping around, per Lakers Nation's Ryan Ward:
Frank Vogel hopes Andre Drummond is a Laker "for a long time."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 4, 2021
Honestly, this just seems odd. The Lakers were better off with JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard at the five last season. While Drummond averaged 11 rebounds in the postseason, he had just nine points per game. His inability to space the floor and play alongside LeBron and AD proved to be a clear issue for Los Angeles.
After starting Drummond in the first five contests against the Suns, Vogel ultimately decided to bench him in Game 6, opting to go with veteran Marc Gasol instead. That didn't work much better though, with the former Raptor posting zero points in 17 minutes for the Lakers.
There's going to have to be some major decisions made this offseason for LA with numerous players on the roster set to become free agents. But Vogel has made it pretty clear, they want Andre Drummond around. Hopefully, with a full season under his belt, he can become more customized to the Lakers' style of play in 2021/22.
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