Cleveland Cavaliers reach buyout agreement with Andre Drummond, sources say – cleveland.com

LOS ANGELES — The Cleveland Cavaliers and Andre Drummond reached a buyout agreement Friday afternoon, sources tell cleveland.com. Drummond will become a free agent.

The Cavs and Drummond started negotiating financial terms of the buyout Thursday, shortly after the front office couldn’t find a trade match for the benched center ahead of the deadline. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that Drummond will meet with five interested teams — New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers — before making his decision.

Many around the league expect him to join the Lakers. But each team has something different to offer and will make a pitch.

Drummond hasn’t played since Feb. 12 — a mutual decision between him and the Cavaliers.

Friday’s buyout gives both sides a chance to officially move forward. Cleveland took him out of the lineup to give Jarrett Allen a bigger opportunity after acquiring the young building block from Brooklyn in January. The Cavs didn’t feel platooning the two was a workable on-court setup. Even though Drummond was inactive, he remained engaged with his teammates. Over the weekend, a few days before the deadline, Drummond was on the bench sitting next to coaches.

“It’s good for both of us to be honest with you. It’s good for the organization. It’s good for Dre, too,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said following Thursday’s practice in Los Angeles. “I couldn’t say enough good things about how he’s handled all this because it wasn’t easy. He’s a competitor. He wants to play. He loves his teammates. His teammates love him.

“And he could have been a jerk and had an attitude and not been good with his teammates and said negative things. But he never did. He handled it professionally. That’s one of the things that we need to make sure that we focus on and remember, how gracefully he handled an extremely difficult situation.”

Drummond has made two postseason appearances in his career. He talked about the possibility of making it three, opting into his $28.7 million contract this past offseason and seeing Cleveland as a potential turnaround destination and a chance at a fresh start. But Allen’s January arrival changed that. An opportunity to join a contender will weigh in Drummond’s eventual decision.

Without Drummond, the Cavs will have two open roster spots. Sources say converting either Lamar Stevens or Brodric Thomas — both playing on two-way deals — has been discussed as one possibility. The Cavs will soon have to make a call on backup point guard Quinn Cook, who is midway through his second 10-day contract. Another possibility is leaving at least one of the spots vacant, scouring the NBA and G League to see if there’s someone worth an upside signing late in the season.