It surely seems like the second go-round of Andre Drummond with the Philadelphia 76ers will just be as short-lived as his first one.
The 76ers came out of the 2025 NBA Draft with three new prospects on board. With the third overall pick, they drafted Rutgers’ VJ Edgecombe, and then went on to bring in big man Johni Broome out of Auburn. Shortly after the draft, they picked up Wake Forest standout Hunter Sallis from the undrafted players pool.
Overall, it is hard not to like what Philly did during the two-night event. Daryl Morey and his crew made some pretty straightforward decisions, and for that, they managed to solve some of their most pressing issues.
Most prominent of those roster holes they managed to seal is their need for more bodies in the frontcourt. With Broome, the 76ers snagged an uber-physical and hard-nosed big man who can hold down the fort inside. That being said, his arrival spells the end for Drummond.
The 76ers have to trade Andre Drummond following their latest draft pick
Drummond has a player option for next season which he is widely expected to pick up to return to the 76ers next season. He has until June 29 to exercise his option, but given how awful he looked in the recent campaign, he is unlikely to be able to command a salary slightly above the veteran’s minimum, which he currently makes with the team.
But with Broome in the fold and Adem Bona expected to have a bigger role next season, the writing is on the wall for what the 76ers must do with the former All-Star. They should trade him while they can, and certainly, there are still teams that have an urgent need for backup big men.
Drummond can still rebound at a very high level, although his rim protection and finishing have both become pretty sus. That could be fixed with a team that has a reliable second-unit floor general, which the 76ers simply did not have.
Fortunately, he is on an expiring deal anyway, meaning the 76ers should not find it impossible to move his deal. If they do pull it off, the coaching staff can fully strengthen the team’s future big man rotation by funneling the available minutes to Bona and Broome behind Joel Embiid.
Andre Drummond was a fantastic pick-up last season, but sometimes, things do not really flow smoothly as expected. That was definitely the case with his second stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, which should end pretty soon.