Welcome back, André Drummond.
The Bulls center told the Paper Route Podcast by I AM ATHLETE he plans to go for his player option with the Bulls this offseason.
“For now, that’s my plan,” Drummond said of exercising his option.
In the summer of 2022, the Bulls signed Drummond using a mid-level exception, giving him a player option for the second year of his two-year, $6.5 million contract. Once Drummond officially accepts his contract, he will earn around $3.3 million next season.
Drummond played an important role on the Bulls bench last season. Behind Nikola Vucevic with an average of 12 minutes per night, Drummond took advantage. He averaged 6.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on 60 percent shooting from the field.
He played a bustling role with second and third units, earning rebounds and acting as a solid rim protector when needed. His ability to beef up the paint and fight for the ball in offensive and defensive situations made him valuable to an undersized Bulls lineup.
His fit with the team is one of the reasons he wants to stay a Chicago Bull.
“In the grand scheme of things, I’m at a point where I like where I am,” Drummond said. “I love playing in Chicago. The team is great. I think we just needed more time to build chemistry together. We had a lot of injuries. There wasn’t really consistency with our unit because the guys were in and out of the lineups. I think with a new year, I think it will be fine.”
As Drummond mentioned, the Bulls are in flux. They didn’t have much success together and endured countless detrimental injuries. This last season potentially served as the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Bulls failed to qualify for the play-off tournament playoff and clinched a record under .500.
The team didn’t have much time to build chemistry, but they didn’t show any improvement in that area either. Over the past two seasons, the Bulls have held the 22nd and 14th best offenses in the league. Their defense has been elite as a team. But they didn’t put the pieces together on offense, despite owning Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, two elite NBA scorers.
Nevertheless, Drummond’s mission is to earn more playing time. He plays behind Vucevic and is sometimes relegated to a lesser role on the bench of Derrick Jones Jr. But Drummond showed enough last season to earn himself a bigger role. consistent in rotation.
“I think it’s just a matter of luck,” Drummond said. “Getting this chance to really show myself again with the team and really put myself back on my feet.”
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