Drummond exercises $28.7M option to stay with Cavs

FILE – Andre Drummond #3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts to the Atlanta Hawks bench during the second half at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 12, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Hawks 129-105. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Jason Miller/Getty Images/AFP

Cleveland center Andre Drummond will exercise his $28.75 million option to stay with Cavaliers, according to multiple reports.

Drummond, 27, informed the organization Tuesday. The 6-foot-10 veteran asserted early in the summer that he would be a Cavalier for the 2020-21 NBA season.

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

His option is worth $28.75 million in the final season of a five-year, $127.2 million deal he signed with Detroit in July 2016.

Drummond was an All-Star for the Pistons in 2015-16 and 2017-18 before being traded to Cleveland in February for John Henson, Brandon Knight and a 2023 second-round pick.

He averaged 17.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks across eight games with the Cavaliers before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland was not involved in the NBA’s restart, finishing with a 19-46 record.

Drummond finished the campaign with averages of 17.7 points and 15.2 rebounds — which led the league for the third straight season and the fourth time in five years — across 57 games, the first 49 in Detroit.

For his career, Drummond has averaged 14.5 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.