PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Andre Drummond is set to return to Philadelphia. The veteran center plans to sign a two-year, $10-plus million deal with the 76ers, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Sunday.
Drummond spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bulls after a brief stint in Philadelphia during the 2021-22 season, where he played 49 games for the Sixers. In that season, Drummond was traded ahead of the NBA trade deadline as part of a package that sent Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets in an exchange that helped the Sixers land James Harden.
Last season with the Bulls, Drummond played in 79 games, including 10 starts, and averaged 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds.
Right before the news broke, Drummond posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was in the “mood for a Philly cheesesteak.”
Drummond will provide much-needed depth at the center spot behind Joel Embiid as the Sixers could part ways with Paul Reed this offseason due to his contract not being fully guaranteed after Philadelphia lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks.
The Sixers also added depth to its frontcourt in last week’s NBA draft by selecting UCLA center Adem Bona.
Drummond’s deal with the Sixers can’t become official until Saturday, July 6 at 12:01 p.m. ET, but NBA teams were allowed to begin negotiating with upcoming free agents starting at Sunday at 6 p.m.
The Sixers are expected to be aggressive in free agency with plenty of assets to use and cap space to spend on talent to surround Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
