Report: Andre Drummond wants to stay with Pistons amid trade talks

Amid trade rumors and speculation, Andre Drummond wants to stay with the Detroit Pistons. He can prove it at season’s end if he elects free agency.

Andre Drummond‘s inspired play in his first game after reports broke the Detroit Pistons were seeking a trade for him isn’t to increase his trade value but to instead prove a point.

He wants to stay with the Pistons, the team that drafted him in 2012 and the one he’s spent all eight seasons of his NBA career with, reports ESPN’s Nick Freidell. Drummond scored 14 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and had five stocks (three steals and two blocks) to go with three assists in the Pistons 111-104 win against the Golden State Warriors.

Signs point to Drummond choosing free agency as opposed to opting in to his $28.8 million player option for the 2020-21 season. He first expressed interest in free agency in the summer and, given the Pistons have engaged in trade talks, the organization isn’t willing to risk losing him.

Drummond, 26, insists that he wants to remain in Detroit.

"“I’m not a quitter, for one,” Drummond said Saturday. “I was never brought up to be a quitter. If I start somewhere, I try to finish there, try to complete the mission, which is to win a championship here. It will never be me that wants to go anywhere … I love being here. I would love to play here the rest of my career.”"

Pistons coach Dwane Casey put things in perspective, saying players of value are always going to draw interest. It is a business, after all, and teams are looking to improve as the Feb. 6 trade deadline draws near. Other teams, like the Pistons, could trade their top veterans in hopes of a better future to pair with recent draft picks Sekou Doumbouya, Luke Kennard and Bruce Brown.

But Drummond believes the circumstances are like year’s past when he’s been implicated in trade rumors. However, the Pistons are 13-23 and sit three games behind the Orlando Magic (16-20) for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and four games behind the Brooklyn Nets (16-18) for the seventh spot.

"“It’s always that time of year around January where trade talks come. Nothing’s happened,” Drummond said. “Obviously, the talks have started, so these questions will start to come. I’ve been looking forward to them coming, but for me, I’m just going to continue to play the game I play, play here in Detroit where I love to be, and whatever happens, happens.”"

He’ll have his chance to prove it. Following Sunday night’s game against the Lakers, the Pistons have a 22-day stretch with 12 games – 10 of which are against teams with a losing record. Two of those games are against the Nets.

Reality is without Reggie Jackson for all but two games and Blake Griffin‘s injury woes that have affected his play and kept him in and out of the lineup, the Pistons are not good and shouldn’t be sniffing the playoffs. But the league is top-heavy with only 13 teams with a winning record.

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It’s an odd spot for the Pistons to be in. Their best trade deadline acquisition could be getting healthy. Kennard is expected to be reevaluated with bilateral knee tendinitis at the end of the road trip. There’s been no update on Griffin’s status, though the Pistons aren’t ready to shut him down yet. Jackson was playing 3-on-3 basketball in San Antonio but no update has been provided after he was supposed to be reevaluated in December.

Pistons owner Tom Gores said the front office will evaluate the team over the next month, seeing the light fade at the end of the tunnel when the 22-day stretch ends. Because then the Pistons outlook is bleak with the toughest schedule in March.

With only $51 million of guaranteed money on the books next season, it’s apparent moves will be made in Detroit. It could involve trading Drummond.

The real test of Drummond’s remarks is whether he would re-sign with the Pistons if he was traded away, if he’s even a part of the front office’s plans.