Detroit Pistons and Andre Drummond Near Agreement on Max Contract, Per Reports

The Detroit Pistons and All-Star center Andre Drummond are reportedly nearing an agreement on a max contract.

As midnight approached last night, the talk was that what happened with Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal would not be part of the drama as each players’ current team would do what is necessary to retain their services.

Just hours into free agency, that’s exactly what happened as ESPN’s Marc Stein reported the Pistons and Drummond were nearing an agreement on a five-year max deal.

Odds were already slim to none that Drummond would be anything but a Piston and the confirmation that they are willing to do a max deal with him drives the point home. Even if Drummond wanted to shop himself to other teams, the Pistons have the right to match any offer due to Drummond’s restricted free agent status.

Even for his free throw shooting woes, Drummond is a rare mix of size and athleticism that makes him a big man to build around. When you have a Drummond, you look to keep him and that takes big money even with some warts.

Drummond is reportedly already at work to improve his free throw shooting in the offseason. His offensive game showed major development last season after he made that a priority last offseason so there is reason to believe a similar improvement at the free throw line is possible.

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Expect a small delay between the agreement of a deal and the actual signing of a deal with Drummond. With just a cap hold counting against the Pistons salary cap until Drummond signs, the Pistons will have more cap room to work with by holding off making his signing official. Because they hold Drummond’s Bird rights, the Pistons can use their cap space then go above it when Drummond’s contract officially hits the books.