In what has been a forgone conclusion, Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond confirmed in an interview that he will be back with the team for the 2020-21 season picking up his $28.75 million dollar option.

Drummond was a guest on the “Le Batard and Friends” Podcast hosted by ESPN personality Dan Le Batard that was released on Tuesday and confirmed that he’d be picking up his player option. The deadline to exercise the option is October 17th but with the salary cap likely dropping from the current $115 million figure and the devaluation of centers in today’s NBA, it makes sense for Drummond to get the money.

“Yeah, it’s going to be hard to give up, so you can count on me being in Cleveland still. I definitely will be in Cleveland.”

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29352892/andre-drummond-pick-option-stay-cavs

The 26-year-old center was acquired by Cleveland from the Detroit Pistons at the trade deadline in exchange for Brandon Knight, John Henson and a future second-round pick. Prior to the NBA’s shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Drummond appeared in eight games for the Cavaliers averaging 17.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 55.2% from the floor.

It’s unclear what his future in Cleveland looks like but with Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love’s long-term future with the team an unknown at this point, the Cavaliers could look to attempt to seek a long-term extension at some point with the two-time All-Star.

Drummond has started to add the three-point shot into his game which a lot of the big men in the NBA have done as the game continues to evolve. Drummond has taken 1.8 three-point attempts in the eight games with the Cavaliers compared to the 0.2 per game he attempted during his eight seasons with the Pistons. If he can continue to work on his shot, the Cavaliers may have no choice but to pay Drummond as he’s still only 26-years-old and could be part of the long-term plan with the likes of Colin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., and Larry Nance Jr. among the other young talent in Cleveland.