76ers star Joel Embiid on Andre Drummond:
“He doesn’t play any defense.”
“I feel like I own a lot of real estate in his head.”
“He’s a fun matchup. I feel like I dominate every game, especially against him.”
Embiid’s new backup center in Philadelphia? Drummond.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Free agent C Andre Drummond has agreed to a one-year deal with the 76ers, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice:
Andre Drummond's deal is for the minimum, per source
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) August 3, 2021
Drummond will replace Dwight Howard, who’s signing with the Lakers. The 76ers cratered when Embiid sat in the playoffs, and this isn’t necessarily an upgrade.
Drummond’s defensive attentiveness comes and goes. His offensive ambition too often outpaces his ability. The 27-year-old’s finishing has declined with his athleticism.
But he’s an excellent rebounder. When active, he can make plenty of positive plays inside on both ends of the floor. A minimum salary is such a small outlay.
One complication: If Philadelphia doesn’t trade Ben Simmons, having Embiid and Drummond as the two main centers will make it difficult to play any lineups with good spacing around Simmons.
At least the 76ers will retain some outside shooting with Furkan Korkmaz, though they’re waiving George Hill.
Wojnarowski:
Furkan Korkmaz has agreed to a three-year, $15M deal to stay with the 76ers, his agents Mike Lindeman and Jeff Schwartz of @excelbasketball tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 2, 2021
Shams Charania of The Athletic:
The Philadelphia 76ers are planning to waive guard George Hill, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Hill had a partial guarantee on next season's contract.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 3, 2021
Just $1,275,491 of Hill’s $10,047,297 salary is guaranteed. Waiving him will help avoid luxury tax. But Philadelphia probably won’t use his roster slot on a better player. Saving money likely hurts the team on the court.
The 24-year-old Korkmaz is a 3-point specialist who could improve his aggressiveness. That’s a reasonable price in a league where wings and shooters come at a premium.