When NBA players are asked about their future, they tend to answer in the vaguest terms, for fear of bothering fans and management of their teams, rarely revealing their future plans, rarely hinting that they might go to other teams, and even those who are about to become free agents usually only give answers like "I haven't thought about it yet" or "I'll fix it at the end of the season."
And nets center Andre Drummond gave a refreshing answer in an interview today, arguably the most honest answer we've ever heard, arguing that the Nets shouldn't consider trading the team's young backup center Nicholas Claxton because he himself may not be on this team next season: "If we all tell the truth, I'll just stay here until the end of the season, who knows what will happen in the offseason?" ”
As we all know, Drummond will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and after a disappointing experience with the Lakers, he joined the Philadelphia 76ers on a base-paying contract last offseason, only to play far more than that contract value, so he is bound to get a much higher-paying contract this summer. Drummond thinks he'll be leaving next season because he knows the nets' current situation, they're mired in a luxury tax woe, with three top-paid contract players and some very high-paying role players (Joe Harris is $16 million a year), and they can barely give Drummond a contract that satisfies drummond, and they can only give a taxpayer middle class exception with an annual salary of about $6 million or so, and there is no guarantee that they will be willing to give away all the middle class exceptions. So Drummond is likely to play for another team next year, in fact we knew the ending before he said that, he was telling the truth.
But it's extremely rare for a pro to talk so bluntly about his future plans, and in his position most players talk about how to fight for the championship and express his desire to return to the team next season. But Drummond is clearly very realistic, he wants a big contract this offseason, and he doesn't think the Nets will try their best to keep him.