The Los Angeles Lakers' quest to find a stabilizing force in the middle took another turn on Friday when an established veteran officially came off the board as a potential option for Rob Pelinka and company.
While a reunion was probably not one of Pelinka's first choices if things were to go exactly to plan, a former Lakers big man has reportedly decided to pick up the player option in his contract to stay put for the 2025-26 season rather than testing free agency.
With every center that opts in or signs with another franchise, Los Angeles' quest to address this issue becomes more complicated.
Lakers' Chances to Reunite with Andre Drummond Officially Squashed
Despite his new contract, Pelinka should feel pressure to assemble the best roster possible around Luka Doncic and LeBron James now that new ownership is on the way. Andre Drummond would have likely been in the class of absolute emergency signings if things got bad come July, but the fact that he is picking up his option and remaining in Philadelphia only makes the market thinner.
JUST IN: Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond will exercise his $5 million player option for the 2025-26 season, league sources told @hoopshype. During his career, Drummond has been an All-NBA selection in 2016, a two-time All-Star, and a four-time rebounding champion. pic.twitter.com/Ymg4vEdbxK
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 27, 2025
Given the Lakers are hard-capped for the 2025-26 season, the options they will have to sign free agents are already going to be limited. The likelihood that the veteran minimum is what they will have to work with, assuming a trade for a big man isn't swung, only trims that number of options on the market.
Drummond spent a portion of the 2020-21 season with the Purple and Gold and averaged 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds in just under 25 minutes per game. Even after his stint in Los Angeles, Drummond has remained a player who can clean up the glass and be enough of a threat to score in the paint, where teams can't just outright ignore him.
Regardless of who the Purple and Gold add to the roster to fortify the center position, the pressure will be on them to perform from the moment they step onto the court in Los Angeles.