The newly acquired Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon will undoubtedly increase their new teams’ chances of going deep into the playoffs, but post-trade deadline moves may decide who takes home the Larry O’Brien trophy this year.
Once again, the Brooklyn Nets snagged another veteran.
Former San Antonio Spur LaMarcus Aldridge’s agent Jeff Schwartz said the seven-time NBA All-Star forward/center has agreed to sign with the Nets.
Agent Jeff Schwartz of @excelbasketball confirms Aldridge's commitment to signing with Nets to ESPN now. Nets have secured Aldridge and Blake Griffin in the buyout market. Brooklyn is loaded for a title run. https://t.co/KchOTq7Foj
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 27, 2021
The Miami Heat had been in hot pursuit of the 35-year-old, but instead, he will join newly acquired Blake Griffin on Brooklyn’s front line.
Aldridge was averaging 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, but he hasn’t seen any action since March 1 when he and the Spurs decided it was time to part.
Another big man who will soon find a new home and his own opportunity at winning a chip is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ two-time All-Star Andre Drummond.
After failing to make a deal, Cleveland agreed to buy out Drummond’s $27.9 million contract making the 27-year-old available to sign with a new team.
Though Drummond expressed his desire to play with LeBron James in a Tweet way back in 2011, the Celtics are reportedly making their own attempt to bring on Drummond.
The Boston #Celtics have put a full-court press on signing Andre Drummond. He is leaning towards #Lakers, but Boston has made up a lot of ground the last 24 hours.
— Evan Massey (@massey_evan) March 27, 2021
The Celtics met with six-foot-ten Drummond, a former Connecticut star and Mount Vernon native, Friday.
However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that LA is the favorite to land the big man.
The Lakers have emerged as a strong frontrunner to sign free agent center Andre Drummond, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 27, 2021
Lakers players and front office have been recruiting the sought-after veteran to bring a strong presence in the middle and provide additional rebounding.
Anthony Davis is still out with an Achilles injury, and Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell have been inconsistent.
Drummond is averaging 17.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 25 starts for Cleveland, but he hasn’t played since February 12.
There’s still plenty of basketball to be played, but all teams are looking to add as many weapons as possible for what looks to be a very entertaining post-season.