What strongly appeared to be a great under-the-radar opportunity for the Philadelphia 76ers got tossed aside once again.
After an unprecedented push-and-pull with the Nuggets, veteran big man Jonas Valanciunas is reportedly staying in Denver with their trade with the Kings slated to push through. All of a sudden, the Lithuanian center was convinced by his new team to suspend his plans of going back to Europe to join Panathinaikos.
The 76ers are not privy to any of these transactions, but they do have some stake in Valanciunas eyeing a return to Europe. After all, the move would have stripped the Nuggets of an actual backup center, and Philly, of course, has the perfect player that could help them entice Denver into a deal in the form of none other than Andre Drummond.
But now, Philly’s front office should bid adieu to that erstwhile possibility.
Coveted Andre Drummond trade just got more impossible for the 76ers
That the 76ers are shopping Drummond is far from a secret. In fact, even before the draft, there were rumors that the front office was trying to dangle his expiring contract away in order to free up some more cap space to bring back Guerschon Yabusele which, of course, ultimately did not happen.
Nevertheless, the team is still quite obviously trying to find a taker for the former All-Star center. He steeply declined last season, and the team’s personnel was simply not ideal to compensate for his weaknesses.
The 76ers have made some considerable reinforcements to shore up their front court in recent weeks, which only fortifies how they view Drummond at this juncture. The team would greatly benefit from having the likes of Adem Bona and Johni Broome assume his minutes, and there is an argument to be made that Drummond would look more than serviceable elsewhere.
Denver has the archetype of players who can make life easier for Drummond to simply focus on doing what he does best as a board-crasher and finisher above the rim. Philadelphia, on the other hand, does not, and profiles as a team that will almost always be undersized on a nightly basis.
For now, the Philadelphia 76ers will just have to go with the waves in free agency. Most teams, however, are already set with their offseason moves, making Andre Drummond a lot tougher to trade at this point in time. In sum, the front office will have to get even more creative in trying to get a deal done.