As fans wait to hear the results of the meeting between Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers, the first major positive news came forward: NBA insider Michael Scotto reports that Andre Drummond is set to return.
This has been a long time coming, as the Sixers never initially wished to part with Drummond but were forced to when they acquired James Harden. The team even tried to reacquire him at the trade deadline last season to the point they thought the deal was complete. However, the Chicago Bulls pulled out at the last moment.
Drummond will bring a necessary paint presence defensively and help a team desperate to improve their rebounding.
Averaging 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in just 17 minutes for the Bulls last season, Drummond remained a starting-caliber center, at least in a regular-season context.
This raises several questions for the Sixers, such as what will happen with Paul Reed and how well Philadelphia’s new (old) backup center will perform in the playoffs. Additionally, Drummond’s contract, which is set to be worth around $5 million this season, affects the rest of their free agency plans.
According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, Philadelphia is signing Drummond directly into their cap space, which will impact their plans through the rest of free agency.
If Philadelphia lands Paul George, the team will now only have roughly $9 million in remaining cap space, assuming George is signed to a max contract.
Another possibility is that the Sixers could sign Drummond into part of the NBA room exception, which would keep the full $14 million open after signing George, but that has yet to be confirmed.
