Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond hints at opting for free agency

Andre Drummond has a player option that could keep him with the Detroit Pistons in 2020-21 but he may have stated his case for free agency already.

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond has a big decision at the end of the season, and it’s possible he’s made up his mind.

Drummond, 26, enters the final year of his five-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2016. He has an option to remain with the Pistons for the 2020-21 season for $28 million.

He returned to Connecticut to play in the Osgood Shootout at New Brittain High School, an event he said he’s been playing in since he was young. During a nine-minute press conference, he hinted at opting for free agency.

"“You’ve got a lot of years left, you’re still a young guy,” a reporter said before being cut off.“I’m a free agent next summer,” Drummond said.“Are you looking forward to that,” the reporter followed.“Yeah, it should be fun,” Drummond said. “I’m excited. I think I’m the only one that has a big contract coming up for the year.”"

Drummond isn’t wrong about the upcoming free agent class. He’s the best frontcourt player in the class, since Draymond Green agreed to a four-year, $100 million extension with the Golden State Warriors this summer.

The other possibility is Anthony Davis, who also has a player option for the 2020-21 season but is likely to remain with the Lakers.

Aside from that, there are several point guards – Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Jeff Teague and Fred VanVleet – that will be unrestricted free agents. Wings that will be unrestricted free agents include DeMar DeRozan, Otto Porter Jr., Gordon Hayward, Danilo Gallinari.

The frontcourt options are slim, with Drummond leading the pack. Marc Gasol, 34, and Hassan Whiteside, 30, are traditional centers that will enter free agency, however they are both quite a bit older than Drummond. Derrick Favors, 28, can also be seen as a center. Top power forwards include Montrezl Harrell and Paul Millsap.

If Drummond is unhappy in Detroit, he can leave at his own will next summer but he’ll be doing so at a discount. The Pistons hold his bird rights, which teams acquire when a player is there on a three-year contract or is traded on that same contract. This means the Pistons can offer Drummond a fifth year on a new deal and more money.

According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, 29 teams can offer increase slots of up to five percent each year. The Pistons can offer up to eight percent additional money per year because of his bird rights.

The CBA states that Drummond, a player defined by playing “at least seven but fewer than ten years of service,” will be able to make “the greater of (x) 30% of the Salary Cap in effect in the first season of the contract, renegotiation, or extension, or (y) 105% of the player’s salary for the prior season.”

The 2020-21 salary cap is unknown. Initially the NBA thought it would be $118 million but the league backtracked and now projects it lower than this year’s $109 million cap, according to SLAM.

For the purpose of a ballpark number, Drummond is likely to make around $32.7 million, which is based off this past season’s salary cap. the second year he would make $35.3 million, then $38.1 million in year three, followed by $41.1 million in year four and, possibly, $44.3 million in a fifth year when he’s 32.

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Those are rough estimates based off this season’s salary cap, meaning Drummond could sign, roughly, a five-year, $190 million extension. Other teams will be able to sign him to a four-year, $140 million contract.

That’s a lot of money to leave on the table if Drummond were to leave Detroit. The reality is that he will likely command a maximum contract. But if the salary cap is decreasing, that may limit the number of teams that can afford him and stay under the luxury tax (currently at $132 million but would decrease with the salary cap).

For Drummond, it’s simply a business decision to get paid while he can. As long as he stays healthy, which he’s played 78 games or more over the last six seasons, he will command a maximum contract.

Drummond is the only player in NBA history with four seasons compiling 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals. He is a two-way center with a developing offensive game to fit the NBA model of three’s and layups.

He’s making a business decision, one that any person would make if they were in the same shoes.

Is Andre Drummond worth a max contract in Detroit with the money coming off the books in free agency the next two years? Let us know in the comments section or by chiming in on the Piston Powered Facebook page or on Twitter @PistonPowered.