Pistons, Andre Drummond must work out an extension
Here’s Michigan Live reporting on Pistons center Andre Drummond, whose big potential is a key part of the team’s future, assuming the two sides don’t get a massive amount of money get in the way of that:
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It’s the lingering business element and will be resolved, one way or another, by an Oct. 31 deadline. Andre Drummond is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the Pistons have just more than a month to sign him to an extension in the five-year, $120 million range. If they don’t, he can become a restricted free agent next summer. The Pistons plan to pay Drummond the same amount in the same time frame either way, but would like their cornerstone center to delay signing until next year. The reason is because until Drummond actually signs his contract, only his cap-hold figure of about $8.2 million would be factored into the Pistons’ 2016-17 payroll for salary-cap purposes, not the $21 million-plus he actually figures to make that season. If Drummond is willing to wait, the Pistons could take care of all other business before him in summer 2016, then blow through the salary cap to re-sign their own free agent. The two key questions are whether Drummond trusts that to happen and is willing to risk a major injury ruining his windfall. He probably can trust it, probably won’t endure any catastrophe this year, and waiting would help put a better team around him. But it’s his future and his decision.
