Center Andre Drummond could be the only move Bulls make at deadline

It was the full Andre Drummond experience.

When he wasn’t owning the boards and collecting rebounds during Tuesday night’s overtime victory, the Bulls’ big man was reminding Timberwolves 7-1 center Rudy Gobert that he wasn’t impressed with his height, hitting the “too small” gesture on Gobert twice.

Drummond made sure to enjoy every bit of the game, knowing it could be his final one 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 playing the waiting game until 2 p.m. Thursday when the deadline ends.

As of Wednesday, he remained the one hot name that the Bulls were willing to part with, looking to add to their draft stock with a second-round pick. 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 blows them away to trade him.

There also 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 front office would mind that.

Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas was as aggressive as anyone in the league in his first year-plus on the job, but after initiating his own rebuild going into the 2021-22 season, has decided to sit on his hands while a lot of what he built has been crumbling around him.

One possible explanation is that he has fallen in love with his own mediocre creation. But to give Zach LaVine a max contract has gone from a questionable decision to a flat-out nightmare.

If there was a piece that Karnisovas was trying to move off of the last few months it was LaVine’s 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.

Meanwhile, trading Drummond would seem like simply rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but for a ninth-place team low on draft capital, picks are very valuable.

The shame in moving Drummond is derived from the fact that coach Billy Donovan finally found another matchup-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 [a] 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.”