2022–23 Chicago Bulls Player Reviews: Andre Drummond
The Bulls new backup center was effective due to his well-known rebounding prowess, yet he was used sparingly by Billy Donovan due to his clear weaknesses…
Andre Drummond was likely signed to the Bulls with one clear goal mind: Help improve the 2021–22 Bulls 17th placed ranking in (total) rebound rate.
The fact that the Bulls actually slipped to 19th in rebound rate in 2022–23 is disappointing, but in a team sport, we know that you can’t point the finger at any one player. It is especially tough to blame Drummond when he received so little playing time.
Drummond finished this season ninth on the Bulls in total minutes, right behind wing/forward Derrick Jones Jr. The fact that he finished behind Jones in total minutes was fitting considering Donovan’s preference for small-ball is what limited Drummond and led to a bit of a resurgence for Jones.
This offseason Drummond has a player option for roughly $3.3 million. I would assume he would accept it and play out one more season in Chicago, but only time will tell.
Key 2022–23 Stats: 6.0 PPG — 6.6 RPG — 60.6% FG
OFFENSE: On offense, many of the issues that have plagued Drummond for most of his career continued in Chicago. While his tremendous offensive rebounding presence is huge, his lack of touch around the rim in certain moments hurt. Drummond (64.3%) ranked ninth on the Bulls in FG% on shots less than five feet from the rim.
This put him behind the likes of Coby White, Alex Caruso & several other guard/wing players finishing at the rim. This isn’t something that I personally was extremely critical of as I wasn’t expecting Drummond to change a ton in his age 29 season.
Drummond’s exceptional passing skill when compared to your average backup center made him a solid fit to replace Nikola Vucevic on the floor in stretches.
The problem is that his lack of scoring punch on offense and agility on defense made him a tough fit in crunch time, and ultimately led to Billy Donovan trusting his small lineups more against elite competition.
Drummond averaged a career-low 6.0 points per game in Chicago and while his minutes obviously had a lot to do with that, it was also clear that offensively he may not be the best fit in Chicago. His rebounding was needed but Chicago also needed a center who put pressure on opposing defenses with rim-running, putbacks, etc.
In his first season in Chicago, Drummond averaged 5.9 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes. That ranks third in his career. Although his finishing leaves much to be desired, Drummond’s ability get second and third shot opportunities for his teammates was still there.
Chicago’s fifth-most played lineup was DeRozan-Drummond-White-Williams-Dosunmu. That unit had a remarkable 29% offensive rebound rate that was fueled almost entirely by Drummond. That lineup also had the second-best Net Rating (+9.6) out of the Bulls top-five used lineups.
DEFENSE: Under Billy Donovan, the Bulls played a very conservative drop defense scheme. This scheme asks big men to “drop back” and prevent the player setting the pick from getting to the rim, thus containing penetration.
Drummond did a solid job of executing this scheme. He was once again dominant in terms of cleaning the glass. Drummond easily led the Bulls with a 35% Defensive Rebounding Rate. While he still wasn’t a great shot blocker by any means, his ability to end a possession with a board still made him quite valuable in certain lineups.
Overall, Drummond was extremely active on defense, even when caught out of position. His mostly understood his and stuck to it and most of my gripes with him were honestly on offense, so nothing but slight praise for him being steady on D. He didn’t rack up a ton of deflections but Drummond’s 1.9 steals per 36 minutes ranked second on the Bulls behind Alex Caruso.
2023–24 SEASON OUTLOOK:
Because Andre Drummond has a player option and just had career-lows in points, rebounds and minutes per game, I would expect him to accept it and be back in Chicago.
Even if Drummond absolutely hated playing for the Bulls — which I wouldn’t blame him considering the 12.7 minutes per game — the open market can be brutal for backup centers, who are usually readily available. Because of this, picking up his option to lock in his roughly $3.3 million salary makes sense.
If Billy Donovan decided he didn’t want to play Drummond at all or simply keep him in a limited role, it would likely force the hand of the front office to move a useful player on a guaranteed salary.
The Bulls need to squeeze usefulness out of every dollar spent on a limited roster. They simply can’t afford to keep Drummond on the team if he isn’t a part of the rotation, considering he is still a good player despite the aforementioned murky backup center market.
