The veteran big man has dealt with injuries and been less effective than hoped this season. The Sixers would be wise to collect an asset or two for him before Thursday’s trade deadline.
The NBA Trade Deadline is this Thursday, Feb. 6, and there is a healthy debate as to whether the Philadelphia 76ers should be buyers or sellers. Should the Sixers look to add one or two pieces to bolster their push for the Play-In Tournament? Or should they consider this a lost season and sell off what players they can to generate assets for the future?
Well, whichever side of the debate you reside on, I think one move should be pretty clear: the Sixers should trade Andre Drummond.
Per recent reporting by USA Today Sports’ Michael Scotto, the veteran big man is on other teams’ radar:
“In light of Philadelphia’s struggles, teams across the league have reached out to see if the 76ers would consider selling off players such as Caleb Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr., Guerschon Yabusele, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon, league sources told HoopsHype.”
“Teams searching for backup center depth are monitoring Drummond, who remains one of the league’s best rebounders when healthy.”
The Sixers re-acquired Drummond this offseason to back up Joel Embiid, but also with the idea in mind that he could be a proverbial innings eater and viable fill-in starter when Embiid inevitably had to rest. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Drummond hasn’t been able to fill that role, only appearing in 28 of the team’s 48 games thus far this season. Andre had been fairly durable throughout his career, but maybe that is starting to change for the now-31-year-old.
The bigger issue is that even when available, Drummond hasn’t been very effective this season:
Think it’s notable that this Sixers turnaround has come while Drummond is out
Team’s net rating for the year with each player at Center:
Bona: -0.4
Yabusele: -0.9
Embiid: +1.1
Drummond: -13.2 (!)— Mike O’Connor (@MOConnor_NBA) January 30, 2025
Drummond’s shooting percentage (50.9 percent) and rebounds and blocks per-36 minute numbers are well off recent years. On the eye test, he just doesn’t look as spry and formidable in the painted area as we saw in his prior stint with the Sixers a couple years ago. Maybe he has been trying to push through injuries to help the team, but the age curve that eventually comes for all could be starting to hit Andre.
Additionally, the other two guys mentioned in O’Connor’s tweet above, Guerschon Yabusele and Adem Bona, have both exceeded expectations to varying degrees. Yabusele has been a revelation as a late-summer minimum signing and is legitimately one of the more sought-after free agents in the league if Daryl Morey decides to part ways with him. Bona has been terrific as a rookie second-round pick, looking more and more comfortable as a regular part of the rotation.
Ultimately, if you’re Team Go For It, it’s reasonable to prefer some combination of Yabusele and Bona to Drummond in terms of filling in for or backing up Embiid anyway. If you’re Team Strip Everything for Parts, getting a second-round pick for a 31-year-old, particularly one with a $5 million player option for next season, is a good bit of business. Andre Drummond is by all accounts a good dude and great teammate, but whichever road the Sixers choose to travel, they should wish him a fond farewell at the intersection.