The Chicago Bulls are stuck. They are 23-27 on the season and currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. They are without the ceiling of a legitimate playoff team nor the floor of bottom dweller who at least can pitch their hopes and dreams to a looming top five draft pick. Basically, the Bulls are in the middle of the pack, where no one wants to be. And after Zach LaVine underwent surgery on his foot that will cost him the rest of his season, the spotlight is on Chicago to see if their veterans like Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan become available. The Bulls will want a lot for those guys, but a different player might have the best chance of getting traded. That would be Andre Drummond.
Drummond has two all-star appearances to his name, but he has bought in as a backup and has made the most of his role with the Bulls this season. His numbers this year on a per-36 minute basis are roughly on par with his All-Star seasons. He can make an impact in that capacity. He could also be easily traded as he's making just under $4 million this season. Drummond can help a contender. A couple of teams, in particular, stand out as places he can help after the trade deadline.
Philadelphia 76ers
Welcome back? There might not be a team in the NBA who can use a center more at the moment than the Sixers. Joel Embiid got injured against the Golden State Warriors after playing through a knee injury during that game. He aggravated it to the point that his knee required surgery and will force him to miss a lot of time. He could miss the rest of the season, but the Sixers hope he will be back in a month or two.
"I'm told that the hope is that [Joel] Embiid misses one to two monthsâŠIf a full repair is needed in surgery, that's going to be a significantly longer recovery time period."@ShamsCharania updates on Joel Embiid's injury.
đș: https://t.co/qYBPWhYgh7 pic.twitter.com/qvhjliu6WPâ Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 5, 2024
While Philadelphia does have faith in their current backup center Paul Reed, their options after him become bleak. Drummond has experience playing with a lot of players currently on their roster after spending half a year in Philadelphia in the 2021-22 season. He's a proven commodity who could at least come close to replicating the rebounding hole Embiid leaves behind.
If Embiid can come back this season, the Sixers are still in the championship picture. But now they need help to stay there. They dropped that game Embiid got injured in and have lost five of their last six games. Embiid didn't play in most of those games and the only showdown they won was a game Tyrese Maxey scored 51 points.
That injury changes the Sixers' plans at the deadline. They will almost surely look to either stand pat or make moves on the edges while keeping the boatload of cap space they currently have in tow. That's fine, but they should not give up on this season entirely either. Drummond can help the Sixers stay afloat and buy time for Embiid. He won't cost much and is also an impending free agent. He'd make a lot of sense for the Sixers.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns don't have a lot to trade, but because of how little money Drummond is making this season, they can make a deal work financially. All they'd have to do is package a couple of players on minimum contracts, like Bol Bol and Damion Lee, and a second-round pick or two (they have five seconds they can trade) and that could be enough to land Drummond.
With such little draft capital, the Suns have to be careful in who they look to trade for. Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks are serviceable centers so they don't exactly *need* Drummond. But Drummond is also an upgrade and would be big for them if anything were to happen to Nurkic. The Suns may look elsewhere, but Drummond makes sense for them as well.
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