Andre Drummond set to return to the Sixers on 2-year, $10 million deal
Drummond, whom Joel Embiid once called the best backup the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player has had in his career, fills a serious backup center need for the Sixers.
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Andre Drummond broke his own news Sunday evening, posting “I’m in the mood for a Philly cheesesteak” on X (formerly Twitter).
The veteran center will soon have plenty of options at his disposal — again. Drummond, whom Joel Embiid once called the best backup the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player has had in his career, has agreed to a two-year, $10-plus million deal to return to the 76ers, a source confirmed to The Inquirer. The second year is a player option.
Drummond spent part of the 2021-22 season with the Sixers, before becoming an underrated part of the Ben Simmons-James Harden blockbuster deadline trade with the Brooklyn Nets. He averaged 6.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, and two assists in 49 games in Philly, accepting a more limited role following two All-Star appearances and multiple rebounding titles earlier in his career.
After finishing the 2021-22 season with the Nets, Drummond spent the next two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. He averaged 8.4 points and nine rebounds during a productive 2023-24, and was believed to be a strong trade-deadline target for the Sixers in February. That was for good reason, as playoffs exposed the Sixers’ struggles to stay afloat whenever Embiid was off the floor.
Drummond’s addition brings into question the future of Paul Reed, who was the Sixers’ backup center last season but whose contract for 2024-25 is nonguaranteed because his team did not advance to the second round of the playoffs. The Sixers also drafted UCLA defensive big man Adem Bona with the 41st pick on Thursday.