Philadelphia 76ers: Andre Drunmond is (probably) a one-and-doner

The Philadelphia 76ers have employed their fair share of one-and-doners over the last few seasons.

From Jimmy Butler, to George Hill, Marco Belinelli, Al Horford, and Tony Bradley, there have been dozens of different players who have come through the City of Brotherly Love, play some ball to a varying degree of competency, and then, for one reason or another, dip before fans can get too attached and/or regret that they purchase said player’s jersey.

Sidebar: The Sixers also have experience with one-and-done college players too, as eight of their last ten first-round picks each only have one year of college experience under their respective belts, but I digress.

Now granted, that isn’t unique to Daryl Morey/Elton Brand’s club. In the modern-day NBA, teams turnover roughly a third of their roster every season without fail, and some championship contenders will undergo even more change as an interchangeable cast of veterans cycle through in the hopes of adding a championship ring to their trophy case.

But why, you may ask, am I pontificating on the one-and-done nature of the NBA’s veteran middle class? Well, because if Andre Drummond can extrapolate his preseason play over an entire regular season, he’ll surely garner a one-way ticket out of town on a far more lucrative deal than his current one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers may again be in the market for a backup center in 2022.

Through the first three Philadelphia 76ers preseason games of the summer, Andre Drummond has played 66 minutes.

Over that albeit limited sample size, Drummond has scored 45 points, hauled in 27 rebounds, and recorded five blocks and nine assists versus eight turnovers.

All in all, excellent stuff.

Whether playing in place of Joel Embiid in Game 1 or as his primary backup in the following two contests, Drummond has found a way to impact the game when he’s been on the court and currently holds a +/- of 15, which is pretty impressive, considering he’s played with some fairly unconventional lineups.

Drummond has looked good under the basket at both ends of the court, has dished out more than a few dimes to his cornucopia of around-the-arc shooters, and served as the best pure screen-setter the Sixers have employed in years, where his 6-foot-10, 279-pound frame is incredibly tricky to bend around on the pick-and-roll.

While Embiid has a reputation for being a bit of a screener too, he’s such an effective offensive weapon from anywhere on the court that his truest value comes on the ball, especially if he can get said ball in the painted area under the basket. Drummond, by contrast, has a far more limited range as a scorer but has proven himself just as effective off the ball in the screen game, which is quite fun on the second unit, especially when paired up with a player like Tyrese Maxey, who likes to drive it to the net.

Needless to say, all of the ire Philly drew from Los Angeles Lakers fans for swapping out Dwight Howard for Drummond appears to have been premature, as the pride of UConn appears destined to average a near double-double in roughly 20 minutes of action a night as Doc Rivers‘ 1b at the five.

If that happens, Drummond may just go down as the best value player in the NBA; a value that many a team would surely pay a higher premium to steal away.

Yup, in a pleasant twist of fate, the Sixers have found themselves with two of the better old-school centers in the NBA and will be able to bump in the paint for a full 48 minutes against seemingly every team in the East, with only Myles Turner and Clint Capela coming close to matching the duo in terms of physicality.

If you’re one of said Eastern Conference teams who will presumably become increasingly annoyed by having to face off against the Sixers’ center duo over the regular season, why wouldn’t you make a run at Drummond when he once again hits the open market in the summer of 2022? I mean, even the most cap-strapped team could offer Drummond double what he will earn in 2021-22 by handing him the full mid-level exception and would be able to deploy the big-bodied center as they see fit depending on the matchup or the situation.

Are you a team like the Orlando Magic with two young, light, and switchable centers but no throwback bull in a china shop-style player? Well, Drummond is your guy. Or how about a team like the Miami Heat, who like to go small with Bam Adebayo at the five? Drummond could be an efficient performer there too and give Jimmy Butler the sort of pick-and-roll partner he hasn’t had since Embiid in South Philly.

Heck, the Charlotte Hornets haven’t had a center like Drummond since Dwight Howard was a member of the team in 2017-18. With a pair of promising young guards in LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier already in place, having a player like Drummond on the roster would surely help to supercharge the Hornets’ post-Kemba Walker-era.

Factor in the entire Western Conference from Portland to San Antonio, and the chances of Philly retaining Drummond look few and far between, even if they commit their entire mid-level exception to retain his services.

Sometimes in the NBA, change is good. Teams can build on what they’ve learned in the previous season and re-tool accordingly, depending on the situation. When a player like Dwight Howard leaves in free agency, his former team can evaluate young players like Paul Reed and determine if they’re ready for a bigger role or if they instead decide that a veteran needs to be brought in to maintain a certain talent level. In 2021-22, that player is Andre Drummond, and even if his time in the City of Brotherly Love is fleeting, it looks like it’ll be incredibly fun to watch.