Andre Drummond clarifies offseason comments: ‘Would I love to be here? Absolutely’

Andre Drummond has cleared the air about his future in Brooklyn after a comment he made last week was misinterpreted on social media.

“Would I love to be here? Absolutely. Can I control that right now? No,” Drummond said after Nets shootaround at the HSS Training Facility in Industry City on Tuesday. “I can only control what’s happening right now. So we know that. So don’t misuse my words. That’s not fair to me and that’s not right, because I shouldn’t have to defend myself publicly, again, after I said the right thing. That’s not right.”

The veteran center’s misinterpreted comment, made last Wednesday in Memphis, was in response to a question asked about Nic Claxton, who thought he was on the trading block once Drummond was traded to the Nets.

“And if we’re all being honest, I’m only here til the rest of the season,” Drummond said then, which went viral.

But that was only a fraction of his full comments from last Wednesday:

“I think that we need [Claxton]. We need him. I think he’s very, very beneficial for this team,” Drummond said. “He’s young still. A guy that can come in and help, can start, come off the bench. He can do a little bit of everything. With a guy like that that’s so versatile, why would you trade somebody like that?

“And again, he’s a young big, too. And if we’re all being honest, I’m only here til the rest of the season, so who knows what’s gonna happen in the offseason? So they need a guy like that.”

Drummond’s misinterpreted quote — which was picked up by several media outlets, including CBS Sports — was made with the logic he is contracted on a one-year deal and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. As far as Drummond or anyone else is aware, once the season ends, so too will his time in Brooklyn unless he is offered an extension.

CBS Sports — whose writer was not in Memphis when Drummond made his comments — published a story with the headline ‘Andre Drummond on his future with the Nets: ‘If we’re all being honest, I’m only here for the rest of the season.’ That headline was then tweeted by the popular basketball Twitter account, Legion Hoops, which has over 500,000 followers. The account also credited CBS Sports.

Drummond saw that tweet and responded to Legion Hoops, in a thread that has since been deleted: “Weirdo vibes… I use to respect your page, but you are no longer credible. Trying to capitalize on false info.”

Drummond doubled down on that stance Tuesday after shootaround.

“If you’re gonna put the right quote out, make sure you put the right thing out,” he said. “Use the whole quote. Don’t use the first half. That’s not right because that’s unfair to me and the staff here, because I never used those words in that context, and you all know that. I said I respect Nic as a player, and I think it’s dumb for them to trade him because he still has two years left on his contract and we’re all aware of me being on a one-year. That’s evident. We know that.

“I said based off my situation, I’m here for the rest of the season, we all know that. I said, ‘Do I know what’s gonna happen in the summertime? Absolutely not. I only can control what’s happening right now.’ That’s what I used. So for you guys to take that first part of my quote is not right, it’s not right. It’s not cool.”

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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/ERBrbXw