Prized free agency addition is becoming unplayable for the 76ers

Through 11 games, the Philadelphia 76ers, to the surprise of all beings following the NBA, have tallied a woeful 2-11 record, a win-loss card that has them currently slotted in at the absolute nadir of the league — only the surreptitiously tanking Raptors are stationed at a worse position.

The 76ers have struggled so much to put out an acceptable on-court product that the fact that they have been huge victims to the injury bug does not hold as much excusatory weight as it normally would. Put simply, the squad has been pretty bad on both ends, with or without their stars.

Ergo, the fact that most of their free agency additions have yet to prove their respective worth does not do them any favors. On paper, the 76ers aced the offseason. In reality, they have not been worth the splurge just yet.

Andre Drummond is slowly becoming unplayable for the 76ers

One prized offseason addition for Philadelphia was veteran center Andre Drummond. Coming off a solid string of seasons as a backup big man, the 76ers quickly snagged him off the market with the hope that he would quell the team’s longstanding struggled finding a tenable second fiddle to Joel Embiid.

Unfortunately, Drummond has struggled so much this season that his performance fails to give his numbers justice. On paper, he seems to be doing Drummond things, averaging 8.3 points and 9.2 boards a game. But other than that, he is failing to make a ripple elsewhere. That he was also plunged into a starting role never intended for him due to Embiid’s lengthy absence only magnified his weaknesses.

Drummond has not been an efficient play finisher. He is shooting a career-worst 49.3 percent from the field, and his lack of any presence outside the paint, any semblance of passing, and offensive fluidity, and annual struggles at the charity stripe have made him a liability on that end, to be frank.

He has also been a negative presence on the less glamorous end of the court. While he has never been a world-stopper, he has previously been at least average as a defender. This season, his lack of rim protection has only exacerbated the team’s issues.

If this goes on, the 76ers should start shaving off his minutes and hand them to Adem Bona or explore the idea of playing Guerschon Yabusele at center for longer durations.

But hopefully, Andre Drummond would be able to overcome this seemingly across-the-board slow start and perform like the high-end backup he was projected to be. Otherwise, that’s another considerable money wasted by the Philadelphia 76ers.