Andre Drummond Rejects Connection Between Twitter Profile And Trade Rumors
Andre Drummond was busy on Twitter on Tuesday, giving life to a theory that he was hinting at a trade from Detroit to Boston.
But he later downplayed his new profile picture and flirty correspondence with the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas.
“I’m a grown man, I can change my profile if I want to. Same thing you can do with yours. It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is, if I want to change my profile picture I can. If you all want to speculate about that, by all means go for it,” Drummond said, after the Pistons first practice back from the All-Star break.
The Pistons’ 23-year-old center has been wrapped up in trade rumors of late, with the NBA’s trade deadline looming on Thursday afternoon. But he doesn’t have time for the speculation.
“What’s it got to do with my team? Worry about the second half of the season, I can’t control what happens in the trade rumors. I’m just here to play basketball,” Drummond said. “If I get traded, I get traded. If I don’t, I don’t. I’m here to play.”
The fifth-year pro said he has grown accustomed to hearing his name in rumors.
“That’s just the way the NBA is. It’s all a business. Everybody’s name gets thrown around when they’re a high-profile guy. My name happens to be (out there). I’m not mad or anything like that, I’m still here to play basketball. Whatever happens, happens,” he said.
Pistons president-coach Stan Van Gundy said on Tuesday the organization has not come close to trading its franchise player, but suggested it has given the idea thought.
“Some discussions get more serious than others and that’s what happens. There hasn’t been a serious discussion about Andre, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been discussions about Andre,” he said.
For the most part, though, Van Gundy was dismissive of the various reports regarding the Pistons’ plan at the trade deadline.
“Chart all the rumors, and 95 percent of them will not happen and probably 90 percent of them were never even discussed seriously…All the rumors and stuff don’t mean a damn thing. They don’t. They really mean nothing,” he said.
ANDRE DRUMMOND TRADE PITCHED BY RAPTORS REPORTEDLY INCLUDED JONAS VALANCIUNAS
Prior to swinging a deal with the Orlando Magic for forward Serge Ibaka, the Toronto Raptors reportedly offered the Detroit Pistons a trade for center Andre Drummond involving Jonas Valanciunas.
According to Jake Fischer of SI.com, the Raptors are "skeptical" about Valanciunas, which is why he was part of the package Toronto reportedly attempted to entice Detroit with.
The 24-year-old Valanciunas is averaging 12.4 points and a career-high 9.9 rebounds this season to go along with a personal-best performance from the free-throw line (85.2 percent).
Drummond, who is one year younger than the 7-foot Lithuanian, is putting up 14.6 points and 13.8 boards per contest. However, he is one of the league's worst free-throw shooters at 43.9 percent.
The former first-round pick out of UConn was selected to his first All-Star team in 2015-16, but ESPN.com's Zach Lowe recently reported that Detroit has quietly explored his value on the trade market. ESPN's Marc Stein also reported Tuesday that the Pistons will "not discourage" offers for Drummond ahead of the deadline.
Although Drummond may have been a more impactful acquisition than Ibaka, the fact that Toronto only had to surrender Terrence Ross and not Valanciunas likely earned it a better net gain in the deal.
The Raptors are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference at 33-24 after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
With star point guard Kyle Lowry able to hit free agency during the offseason, there is likely a sense of urgency north of the border to win now.
Trading for Ibaka should help in that regard, but Fischer added that the Raptors may not be done, as they are still on the lookout for another piece on the wing or in the frontcourt.
DRUMMOND ON TWEETS AND TRADE TALK: 'I CAN CHANGE MY PROFILE IF I WANT TO'
BOSTON – If you believe what Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons are saying, then the former UConn star will not be on the move prior to Thursday’s 3 p.m. ESTtrade deadline.
Drummond, whose social media posts on Monday and later Tuesday morning only perpetuated the belief that he might be traded to Boston, addressed the trade speculation surrounding him after the Piston’s practice on Tuesday.
“What’s that got to do with my team?” he told reporters. “I can’t control what happens with trade rumors.”
Drummond was then reminded of the eyeballs emoji he posted Tuesday morning, which came less than 24 hours after he re-tweeted Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas’ eyeballs emoji – a similar posting to what Thomas did around the time Boston landed Al Horford last summer.
So as fans and media tried to piece the tweets together like they were clues to a Jessica Fletcher mystery, Drummond did his best to splash cold water on the trade talk on Tuesday.
“I’m a grown man,” he said. “I can change my profile if I want to. It doesn’t matter what time of year. If y’all want to speculate about that and me, go for it.”
Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy has made no secret about the Pistons having conversations with several teams about all their players.
“Some discussions get more serious than others and that’s what happens,” Van Gundy told reporters following the team’s practice on Tuesday. “There hasn’t been a serious discussion about Andre, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been discussions about Andre.
Van Gundy added, “The rumors don’t mean anything to me. One of you (media) guys asked me over the weekend how far along the D.J. Augustin and Jeff Green trade for Reggie was. The first time I heard about it was when I got that text, so I would assume not that far. I usually can just laugh it off, but it gets a little annoying.”
But he later downplayed his new profile picture and flirty correspondence with the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas.
“I’m a grown man, I can change my profile if I want to. Same thing you can do with yours. It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is, if I want to change my profile picture I can. If you all want to speculate about that, by all means go for it,” Drummond said, after the Pistons first practice back from the All-Star break.
The Pistons’ 23-year-old center has been wrapped up in trade rumors of late, with the NBA’s trade deadline looming on Thursday afternoon. But he doesn’t have time for the speculation.
“What’s it got to do with my team? Worry about the second half of the season, I can’t control what happens in the trade rumors. I’m just here to play basketball,” Drummond said. “If I get traded, I get traded. If I don’t, I don’t. I’m here to play.”
The fifth-year pro said he has grown accustomed to hearing his name in rumors.
“That’s just the way the NBA is. It’s all a business. Everybody’s name gets thrown around when they’re a high-profile guy. My name happens to be (out there). I’m not mad or anything like that, I’m still here to play basketball. Whatever happens, happens,” he said.
Pistons president-coach Stan Van Gundy said on Tuesday the organization has not come close to trading its franchise player, but suggested it has given the idea thought.
“Some discussions get more serious than others and that’s what happens. There hasn’t been a serious discussion about Andre, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been discussions about Andre,” he said.
For the most part, though, Van Gundy was dismissive of the various reports regarding the Pistons’ plan at the trade deadline.
“Chart all the rumors, and 95 percent of them will not happen and probably 90 percent of them were never even discussed seriously…All the rumors and stuff don’t mean a damn thing. They don’t. They really mean nothing,” he said.
 |
| AUBURN HILLS, MI - NOVEMBER 21: Andre Drummond #0 of the Detroit Pistons reacts to missing two free throws with 4.6 seconds left down by two points to the Houston Rockets at the Palace of Auburn Hills on November 21, 2016 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) |
ANDRE DRUMMOND TRADE PITCHED BY RAPTORS REPORTEDLY INCLUDED JONAS VALANCIUNAS
Prior to swinging a deal with the Orlando Magic for forward Serge Ibaka, the Toronto Raptors reportedly offered the Detroit Pistons a trade for center Andre Drummond involving Jonas Valanciunas.
According to Jake Fischer of SI.com, the Raptors are "skeptical" about Valanciunas, which is why he was part of the package Toronto reportedly attempted to entice Detroit with.
The 24-year-old Valanciunas is averaging 12.4 points and a career-high 9.9 rebounds this season to go along with a personal-best performance from the free-throw line (85.2 percent).
Drummond, who is one year younger than the 7-foot Lithuanian, is putting up 14.6 points and 13.8 boards per contest. However, he is one of the league's worst free-throw shooters at 43.9 percent.
The former first-round pick out of UConn was selected to his first All-Star team in 2015-16, but ESPN.com's Zach Lowe recently reported that Detroit has quietly explored his value on the trade market. ESPN's Marc Stein also reported Tuesday that the Pistons will "not discourage" offers for Drummond ahead of the deadline.
Although Drummond may have been a more impactful acquisition than Ibaka, the fact that Toronto only had to surrender Terrence Ross and not Valanciunas likely earned it a better net gain in the deal.
The Raptors are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference at 33-24 after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
With star point guard Kyle Lowry able to hit free agency during the offseason, there is likely a sense of urgency north of the border to win now.
Trading for Ibaka should help in that regard, but Fischer added that the Raptors may not be done, as they are still on the lookout for another piece on the wing or in the frontcourt.
DRUMMOND ON TWEETS AND TRADE TALK: 'I CAN CHANGE MY PROFILE IF I WANT TO'
BOSTON – If you believe what Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons are saying, then the former UConn star will not be on the move prior to Thursday’s 3 p.m. ESTtrade deadline.
Drummond, whose social media posts on Monday and later Tuesday morning only perpetuated the belief that he might be traded to Boston, addressed the trade speculation surrounding him after the Piston’s practice on Tuesday.
“What’s that got to do with my team?” he told reporters. “I can’t control what happens with trade rumors.”
Drummond was then reminded of the eyeballs emoji he posted Tuesday morning, which came less than 24 hours after he re-tweeted Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas’ eyeballs emoji – a similar posting to what Thomas did around the time Boston landed Al Horford last summer.
So as fans and media tried to piece the tweets together like they were clues to a Jessica Fletcher mystery, Drummond did his best to splash cold water on the trade talk on Tuesday.
“I’m a grown man,” he said. “I can change my profile if I want to. It doesn’t matter what time of year. If y’all want to speculate about that and me, go for it.”
Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy has made no secret about the Pistons having conversations with several teams about all their players.
“Some discussions get more serious than others and that’s what happens,” Van Gundy told reporters following the team’s practice on Tuesday. “There hasn’t been a serious discussion about Andre, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been discussions about Andre.
Van Gundy added, “The rumors don’t mean anything to me. One of you (media) guys asked me over the weekend how far along the D.J. Augustin and Jeff Green trade for Reggie was. The first time I heard about it was when I got that text, so I would assume not that far. I usually can just laugh it off, but it gets a little annoying.”
0 Response to "Andre Drummond Rejects Connection Between Twitter Profile And Trade Rumors"
Post a Comment