During trade season, the NBA resembles a cruel mistress where no player's position is ever safe. Expiring contracts are a valuable commodity as struggling franchises look to perform open-heart surgery on their roster and prepare for the following campaign. Andre Drummond, unfortunately, falls into this category. After chalking up another DNP in the Philadelphia 76ers' 128-113 win over the LA Clippers on February 2, his fate is almost certainly sealed.
Drummond started the 2025-26 season impressively, aiming to improve on his poor showings from the previous year. In December, the 32-year-old exhibited the elite rebounding traits Philadelphia believed they were acquiring in 2024. Drummond averaged 9.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Seemingly, the 76ers had finally found an effective solution to a weakness on the boards that had plagued the franchise for countless years -- until the veteran's role in the rotation suddenly changed.
As Philadelphia's superstar Joel Embiid returned to prominence and the athletic sophomore Adem Bona was granted more opportunities to impress his head coach Nick Nurse, Drummond's minutes were brutally cut, creating a murky outlook for his future with the Sixers.
Drummond's depleted role suggests a trade is inevitable
General manager Daryl Morey has become renowned over the last couple of years for ducking the luxury tax threshold by any means necessary. Despite recent calls from Embiid for Philadelphia to avoid taking this treacherous path once again and to keep this close-knit roster together, Drummond's exclusion from the rotation would suggest he will ignore the 2023 NBA's Most Valuable Player.
During the 76ers' previous 10 fixtures, the former Chicago Bulls center has accumulated 45 minutes on the court, with seven of these games ending with Drummond recording a DNP.
This is far from a performance issue for Drummond. Each time Nick Nurse has granted the veteran minutes on the floor, he has shown that he can make a positive contribution to the team. Even though the Sixers were defeated 116-110 by the Phoenix Suns on January 21, Drummond grabbed 15 rebounds in 22 minutes on the floor. This is the exact mould of player the 76ers require when Embiid sits on the bench.
Nevertheless, if Andre Drummond's recent usage is anything to go by, performance levels mean little to the Philadelphia 76ers' hierarchy. Now that Paul George is serving a 25-game suspension and has alleviated a percentage of the financial restraints the Sixers are under, the franchise will not be forced to trade as many assets. With Kelly Oubre Jr. offering many of the same traits as George, the writing is on the wall: the 32-year-old veteran is the most likely casualty in the days ahead.