The Detroit Pistons have put Andre Drummond on the trade block, and the Boston Celtics have reportedly expressed interest.
Of course, “expressed interest” could simply mean picking up the phone, calling the Pistons and asking one question about Drummond before hanging up, but let's play along.
It's no surprise that the Celtics would at least check in on Drummond. At the very least, it's due diligence.
But if it gets past that, it doesn't really make much sense for Boston.
That sounds weird, because everyone and their goldfish knows that the C's need another big man, but it's not as simple as just going out and getting one. There are a whole lot of other factors at play.
Let's start with the fact that Drummond has a $27 million salary that will basically be impossible for the Celtics to match without gutting their roster.
Unlike the Atlanta Hawks, who have also inquired about Drummond, Boston doesn't have any expiring deals it can send the Hawks' way to match that salary.
The only way the C's can do it is by sending Kemba Walker or Gordon Hayward to Detroit, which would obviously be counterproductive. Either that, or the Celtics would have to trade away half of their roster, which wouldn't make any sense.
Second of all, Drummond will likely opt out of the final year of his deal and become a free agent this summer.
Boston has already played that wait-and-see game with Kyrie Irving. Doing it again with Drummond would be silly, especially considering the C's would have to surrender some assets, as well.
Imagine trading some good pieces for Drummond, only to see Drummond walk in free agency. It would be disastrous for the Celtics and would destroy the good thing they currently have going.
Finally, we don't even have a whole lot of evidence that Drummond makes his team better.
Yes, he puts up huge numbers, and he is a physical and athletic freak, but in spite of his tools, he is not an elite defender, and his lack of offensive prowess is a liability at times.
Heck, for as gaudy as Drummond's stats look this season, he owns a minus-4 net rating. Outside of last season, where Drummond was a robust plus-10, he has been a net negative regularly throughout his NBA career.
While net ratings can be wonky, they are certainly worth noting when obvious themes become prevalent, and if anything, it seems like Drummond's 2018-19 campaign is the outlier.
The Celtics are 24-8 going into their Saturday night matchup with the Chicago Bulls. They are good on both sides of the ball, and their chemistry is fantastic.
Sure, they have holes that need patching, especially in the frontcourt, but emptying the cupboard for Andre Drummond would not be the wisest course of action.
There will likely be cheaper big men available between now and the deadline that Boston can pick up, which would be a much more feasible route than trading away vital pieces for a guy who a.) might not even make the team better, and b.) might walk in a few months.
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