Cavaliers, two-time All-Star Andre Drummond will work on buyout

Unsurprisingly, the Cleveland Cavaliers' wish that some team would make a meaningful and serious move to acquire benched center Andre Drummond went unanswered through the trade deadline Thursday.

Both parties will now move forward toward the inevitable. 

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and other outlets report that Drummond, who hasn't played since Feb. 12, will work on a buyout with Cleveland. The 27-year-old joined the Cavaliers from the Detroit Pistons via a trade in February 2020 and will likely depart to a contending team. 

Across 25 games during the 2020-21 season, Drummond averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. His player option worth $28.7 million always made it unlikely Cleveland would be able to fetch any asset for him in a trade unless he performed at an All-Star level over the opening half of the campaign. That didn't happen, and the Cavs will ultimately allow him to leave with nothing to show for the experiment. 

The day wasn't a total loss, though, as Cleveland sent center JaVale McGee to the Denver Nuggets. 

Meanwhile, SNY reports that both the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets could be interested in Drummond.