The Chicago Bulls are reportedly going to lose their second-leading rebounder from last season to free agency.
Andre Drummond’s two-year, $6.6 million contract with Chicago is about to expire, and Joe Cowley has reported for the Chicago Sun-Times that Drummond is expected to seek a new team on the free agent market this summer.
Cowley described Drummond’s departure as an “expected vacancy” for the Bulls and wondered where and when Chicago can “grab a big to replace (Drummond).”
Drummond, 30, brings immediate rebounding help to whichever franchise he joins. The two-time NBA All-Star has averaged 12.4 rebounds per game during a 12-year career in which he’s also shot 54.3 percent from the field.
Drummond averaged 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game for the Bulls in 79 games played in 2023-24, his most durable season since 2018-19.
Drummond is somewhat of an old-school big. He’s not going to stretch the floor with outside shooting, nor does he escape classification as a liability at the free throw line (48.2 percent from the stripe in his career).
Even so, teams that lack rebounding and size can surely benefit from adding Drummond.
Ironically, the Bulls are one of these teams. In the event of Drummond’s leaving in free agency, Chicago’s depth chart will be left utterly absent of frontcourt players besides Nikola Vučević.
The Bulls’ front office will have its work cut out during the NBA Draft, free agency and trade market to ensure that Chicago does not enter the 2024-25 season devoid of playable bigs.
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