BOBBY Marks, a salary specialist at ESPN, analyzes Andre Drummond's contract.
ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin said in the podcast that the Lakers do not see Drummond's contract as a "loan" and they hope drummond is a member of the team's future.
The Lakers only have Drummond's non-bird rights, and with their salary cap status quo, it is most likely to give Drummond a $5.9 million luxury tax middle class (mini middle class) contract. It was difficult for the Lakers to give Drummond a bigger contract, not to mention that the Lakers even abandoned him in the first round of G6.
If the Lakers renew Drummond with a contract that exceeds the luxury tax middle class, it will trigger the hard pay cap. If the Lakers renew Drummond's contract with a $9.5 million luxury tax, they will lose Schroeder, Caruso and Horton Tucker or other players under contract, such as Pop or Kuzma.