Detroit Pistons trade notebook: Andre Drummond draws interest from New York Knicks

Andre Drummond is drawing interest from the New York Knicks, the seventh team with interest in trading for the Detroit Pistons center.

We’re now one week into the public “The Detroit Pistons are seriously looking to trade Andre Drummond” saga.

A long list of teams with varying interest in Drummond  have emerged since the initial Woj bomb. Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the the New York Knicks are the most recent team to enter into the bidding war. I say bidding war with a little hesitance since it was reported today that the Atlanta Hawks have yet to be willing to include a first round draft pick to obtain Drummond.

Here’s the current list of teams with reported interest:

• Atlanta Hawks
• New York Knicks
• Charlotte Hornets
• Toronto Raptors
• Boston Celtics
• Cleveland Caveliers
• Dallas Mavericks

Charania mentioned that the Pistons are looking for one or two firrst round draft picks and/or young players. The Knicks have plenty of each of those that they could move if they’re seriously considering trading for Drummond.

As of now, it doesn’t seem like any of these teams have been willing to include those above mentioned assets, otherwise a deal would likely be done at this point, but it’s never a bad thing that multiple teams have emerged as possible suitors. All it takes is one or two of these teams to value Drummond enough and get the real bidding war started.

Since the Knicks are the most recent addition to the party, let’s talk about them as a possible destination. They have a plethora of draft picks and young players that they don’t seem to be in love with. But before we get to that, please don’t inform them that Drummond is a center, and not a power forward which is a position they apparently would love to have eight guys at, but I digress.

Early in the year it was rumored that Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina could be nearing the end of their time in New York. The Pistons expressed interest in Ntilikina earlier this season as well.

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On the other hand, the one player that the Knicks seem intent on keeping beyond this season is former Piston Marcus Morris. Now I’m no basketball genius, but why not make Morris happy this season and trade for his brother Markieff Morris in a package deal with Drummond? Seems like a good idea to me.

Worth noting is that Drummond grew up a Knicks fan, and played college ball nearby at UCONN. Additionally worth noting is that the Knicks general manager is Scott Perry, was with the Pistons organization when they draft Drummond in 2012.

With those things in mind, Drummond could be better served to commit to opting into the player option that he has for next season. That would allow the Knicks, or any team that Drummond wanted to land with, to feel comfortable offering more in a trade. Otherwise, teams are taking a risk that they only get a half season of Drummond.

A major benefit that trading for Drummond gives a team, however, is that they obtain his bird rights. That means they can offer more money and years to Drummond this summer when he ultimately becomes a free agent.

We’ll see how this unfolds, but it’s getting interesting as the Feb. 6 trade deadline gets closer and closer. All it takes is one.