Andre Drummond pushed back on the narrative that his comments last week show he’s got one foot out the door in Brooklyn. And Tuesday, the normally affable Nets center said those comments were misrepresented and misconstrued.
“That’s f–ked up. Why y’all do me like that? You know I ain’t say nothing like that,” said Drummond, averaging 12.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and a team-high 122.5 Offensive Rating coming into Tuesday’s game vs. Detroit. “You didn’t use the words that I said. You took what I said and twisted it. You guys are better than that. You know what I said.
“I don’t need to clear it up. You know what I said. I said based off my situation, I’m here for the rest of the season, we all know that. I said do I know what’s gonna happen in the summertime? Absolutely not. I only can control what’s happening right now…So for you guys to take that first part of my quote is not right, it’s not right. It’s not cool.”
That aforementioned comments came after last Wednesday’s morning shootaround in Memphis. When asked by The Post about how Nic Claxton assumed the All-Star’s arrival would precipitate him getting traded, Drummond went on to praise his young teammate.
Drummond also acknowledged that Claxton is under team control while he himself was an unrestricted free agent on an expiring one-year deal. That latter part is what got picked up by aggregators, with Drummond specifically citing one while pushing back recently on social media.
“If you’re going to put the quote out, make sure you put the right thing out. Use the whole quote; don’t use the first half. That’s not right, because that’s unfair to me and the staff here, because I never used those words in that context, and you all know that,” said Drummond. “I said I respect Nic as a player and I think it’d be dumb for them to trade him because he still has two years left on his contract and we’re all aware of me being on a one-year. That’s evident; we know that.
“Would I love to be here? Absolutely. Can I control that right now? No. I can only control what’s happening right now. We know that. So don’t misuse my words. That’s not fair to me and that’s not right, because I shouldn’t have to defend myself publicly, again, after I said the right thing. That’s not right. I respect you guys as media, I love you guys as media, you guys have been fun, you guys have been great to me. But don’t twist my s–t around. That’s not right.”
Nets fans can hope Drummond, 28, comes back; but keeping him will be a taller order than retaining Claxton.
While a qualifying offer to Claxton will make him a restricted free agent – thus allowing Brooklyn to match any offer to him, and go over the cap to retain him – Drummond is not only unrestricted, but underpaid at $2.4 million.
The Nets don’t have his Bird Rights, and can only offer him either another veteran’s minimum or a Mid-Level Exception worth roughly $6 million.
Considering Drummond is leading the league in both rebound percentage (.230) and defensive rebound percentage (.310), he’ll likely get higher offers elsewhere. But he was vexed with the misrepresentation that he’s set on taking them.
“I don’t know who reported it. All it says was ‘I’m only here for one season.’ That’s it. But they didn’t use the entire quote,” Drummond said. “And I get it: It’s the media, you guys are looking for the one-liners to put the show out.
“But if you’re gonna do that put the whole fu-king quote out. Don’t mis-use my sh-t. That’s not right. Excuse my French for cursing, but that’s not fair to me. I don’t like that. I’m here in a new city. I’m here to do my job. Don’t f–k my s–t up.”
Nets fans are hoping that job includes winning a title – and staying on for more.
