It was the full Andre Drummond experience.
When he wasn’t owning the boards and collecting rebounds, the Bulls big man was reminding a certain Minnesota 7-foot-1 center that he wasn’t impressed with his height, hitting the “Too small” gesture on Rudy Gobert … twice.
Drummond made sure to completely enjoy the evening on Tuesday, knowing very well it could be his final game in a Bulls uniform.
“I control what I can control,” Drummond said when asked about the pending trade deadline. “I’ve been doing this for 12 years. It didn’t change then, it won’t change now. There’s nothing I can do about it. If (a trade) happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, great. Whatever jersey I put on … Chicago Bulls is who I play for now. Either way, I’m just going to come in and do my job on a daily basis. Great night for me (Tuesday), great night for the team and an excellent win. Enjoying the moment.”
Drummond definitely did that, and now is in the waiting game until Thursday at 2 p.m. when the deadline is up.
As of Wednesday, he remained the one hot name that the Bulls were willing to part with, looking to add to their draft assets with a second rounder. According to a source close to the situation, there have been plenty of calls about Alex Caruso, but the front office would need an offer that completely blew them away to trade Caruso.
There have been talks about DeMar DeRozan, but nothing substantial.
That could all change come Thursday afternoon when it’s time for teams to really show their hands, but initial feelings were it might be an underwhelming deadline across the league.
Not that the Bulls front office would mind that.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas was as aggressive as any suit in the league in his first year-plus on the job, but after initiating his own rebuild going into the 2021-22 season, has chosen to sit on his hands while a lot of what he built has been crumbling around him.
Falling in love with his own mediocre creation? Some of that. But the decision to make Zach LaVine a max contract player has gone from questionable decision to flat-out nightmare.
If there was a piece that Karnisovas was actually trying to move off of the last few months it was the LaVine contract, but once the guard and his representation from Klutch Sports opted for season-ending surgery on his right foot it became obvious LaVine wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
A boulder that won’t be budging, either.
In the meanwhile, trading Drummond would seem like simply rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic, but for a ninth-place team low on draft capital, picks are currency. Make that gold.
The shame in moving Drummond would be coach Billy Donovan finally found yet another match-up based look for certain opposing teams by starting Drummond alongside center Nikola Vucevic for the first time this season, and it might end up being just a one-and-done.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Drummond said of his start. “I’ve looked forward to playing alongside of (Vucevic). We’ve done it a few times already (off the bench), so it was good to see it in a full-game stint. It shows the type of team we are.
“They’ve got to pick their poison. Whether you let me beat you up in the paint or whether (Vucevic) shoots a three. It’s a great duo.”