Los Angeles (AFP)
The pivot Andre Drummond, left free by Cleveland, has decided to finish the season with the Lakers, NBA title holders, which he will considerably strengthen the domestic sector, ESPN reports Sunday, citing his agent.
This rookie of height (2.08 m) and weight (123 kg) will do good to the franchise of Los Angeles, which needs to strengthen its defense inside for the play-offs.
A fortiori, while the two stars of the team LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (calf, Achilles tendon) are currently on the flank.
The Lakers are however filled with the post of pivot, with Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell.
And if the second brings a lot out of the bench (15.1 pts, 6.7 rebounds on average), the first, 36 years old, is not in his best shape (4.8 pts, 4 rebounds).
Drummond, rebound specialist (13.5 catches per game, in the top 3 of the league) is also a player who knows how to score (17.5 pts), even if this will not be his primary task.
By attracting this boo player, who played eight seasons in Detroit, before landing in Cleveland in 2019, the Lakers are sending a response to Brooklyn, its most serious rival for the title race, which added on Saturday to its star-studded workforce ( Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin ...) the experienced pivot LaMarcus Aldridge, also left free by San Antonio.
They will nevertheless have to recover James and Davis quickly enough, to hope to claim a double, whether against the Nets or another contender of the Eastern Conference.
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