Sixers: 4 most exciting backup center options for 2021-22

Ever since the Sixers traded Nerlens Noel for peanuts at the deadline in Joel Embiid’s rookie season, they’ve been searching for a capable backup for when the dominant big man goes to the bench. For four consecutive seasons, the Sixers have been unable to add a player capable of holding down the fort in the postseason — it’s clearly time for them to hunt for something new.

From veteran additions to late draft selections, the team brought in a collection of bigs to compete for those coveted rotation minutes; these are the four most exciting options the team has at the position heading into yet another season with championship aspirations.

Sixers’ 4 most exciting backup center options: Andre Drummond

The Sixers signing Andre Drummond to back up Embiid this season came absolutely out of nowhere. After Dwight Howard rejoined the Lakers, it was clear the team would make some sort of move to replace his sporadically productive yet incredibly frustrating bench minutes. But Drummond made perhaps the least sense of any remaining big on the market.

Most notably, there’s the history of perpetual conflict between Drummond and the MVP candidate he’s now backing up. There’s a case to be made that Drummond was perhaps Joel Embiid’s favorite big man to pick on during his years in Detroit and Cleveland — over the course of just a few meetings, Embiid baited an ejection on Drummond with a hilarious flop, waved him goodbye after drawing a sixth foul, and tweeted at Drummond postgame in a now-legendary exchange.

But there’s also the issue of Drummond’s actual fit as a backup big off the bench. After fans spent last year clamoring for a more modern five to take Embiid’s minutes — a Dewayne Dedmon or Gorgui Dieng type capable of spacing the floor and moving more fluidly defensively — general manager Daryl Morey signed a player who is essentially Dwight-lite instead.

Though Drummond’s rebounding is prodigious, it’s also his one above-average NBA skill. He’s inept at actually scoring the basketball. Last season, Drummond shot below 41 percent on post-up field goal attempts; no other player who scored more that two points per game on post-ups even dipped below 45 percent. Also, despite catching passes from LeBron James all season, he somehow also finished at the bottom of the field goal percentage chart on plays where he caught the ball in the paint among qualifying centers. Drummond’s atrocious touch became infamous among Lakers fans, and he did next to nothing to prevent his team from being bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

Drummond is also a known quantity. Though he is still just 28, he’s been in the league for eight seasons already, and it’s become clear what he brings to the table: elite rebounding, pathetic finishing and self-creation, next-to-no jump shooting (his best season from three was 2019-20, when he went 5-for-35), and questionable defensive effort. For all these reasons, his backup center minutes are definitely the least inspiring for this upcoming season, and it’ll be more interesting to see if he and Joel Embiid can put their old rivalry to bed than it’ll be to actually watch Drummond take the court for the Sixers.