The Sixers are willing to move veteran center Andre Drummond before next week’s trade deadline, sources tell Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required).
Drummond, 32, holds a $5MM expiring contract. He provides a reliable backup for Joel Embiid when Embiid is able to play and a veteran presence in the starting lineup when he’s not. But the strong performance of second-year big man Adem Bona has lessened the need to keep Drummond on the roster.
Drummond has appeared in 35 games this season, making 16 starts and logging 20.0 minutes per night. One of the league’s best rebounders, he’s averaging 7.1 points and 9.0 boards per night while shooting 49.7% from the field.
A report last month noted that the Knicks have shown interest in Drummond in the past, but New York has limited flexibility on the trade market due to its hard cap and may be more focused on backcourt help.
Pompey explores the Sixers’ overall trade outlook heading into the deadline, concluding there are no pressing needs on the roster. He notes that the team is about $7MM above the tax threshold and roughly $1MM away from the first apron. They have a history of making deals to avoid the tax, but that philosophy could be different this year as they’ve shown signs of being one of the East’s best teams when their star players are healthy.
Pompey points to veteran guard Eric Gordon, who has a $3.63MM expiring contract, as another player who could be moved. Gordon, who’s 37 and in his 18th NBA season, has only appeared in six games and hasn’t played at all since December 23. He agreed to the deal in July after turning down a $3.47MM player option, but he only counts $2.3MM against the cap, which could help his trade value.
Pompey suggests the Nets or Jazz might be convinced to take on Gordon if a sweetener is included, but he also points out that Gordon has been serving as a mentor to rookie standout VJ Edgecombe, which is an argument for keeping him on the roster.
Pompey notes that Kelly Oubre Jr. ($8.3MM) and Quentin Grimes ($8.7M) have expiring contracts as well, and Grimes holds an implicit no-trade clause that allows him to veto any deal. There are teams around the league that are watching to see if the Sixers are willing to part with Oubre, according to Pompey.
Pompey also makes a case for keeping second-year guard Jared McCain, who has fallen out of the rotation and was sent to the G League last week. McCain was off to a promising start before an injury ended his rookie season after 23 games, and Pompey notes that he provides insurance in case Grimes leaves in free agency this summer.
slow news day i guess.
Why wouldn’t Grimes leave in free agency?
Because most teams can’t/wont sign him for more than Philly can apart from a sign and trade. TBH I don’t expect him back in Philly either way, but we will see.
And another one of these….ok we get it… everybody’s keeping everybody so we can just go ahead and cancel the trade deadline.
Hawks are a terrible rebounding team. Drummond would help us immensely. Mo Gueye & N’Faly Dante for Drummond straight up should work for both sides.
To be honest, the Sixers are a terrible rebounding team. For whatever reason Nurse prefers to play Bona instead of Drummond, who is inarguably our best rebounder. I mean what supposed playoff team, in looking at their roster, says hey, let’s address one of the weakest aspects of our team by making it worse? I honestly don’t get it unless it’s simply about saving some tax dollars.
I also have no idea why they’d wanna trade Drummond.
To duck the tax, it’s not complicated.
Gueye no way. Atlanta picked him over Trae
Yabusele for Drummond
Oh Great Googly Moogly
Heat, Memphis or GS should
GSW don’t need no stinkin center.
Wrong
OKC would be a good fit for Drummond. They’ve been outrebound a lot recently with Hartenstein injured. Drummond would help them in that area