Ouch! If there’s one thing it’s hard for a sports team to recover from is a star player suffering an injury and having to go on temporary leave to recover. Ever since Joel Embiid, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers’ power forward and center, injured the lateral meniscus in his left knee during the game between the Sixers and the Warriors last week, the NBA team has been scrambling for answers to keep momentum as Embiid recovers. Jonathan Kuminga unfortunately fell on Embiid’s left leg with close to only 4 minutes left in the game which caused the injury.
There has been talk of the team bringing back Andre Drummond, a veteran center, as Embiid takes the next four weeks to recover. Drummond has already become known recently as the Sixer most likely to get traded amidst the trade deadlines. Since the trade deadlines take place on February 8, 2024, at 3 pm, it is only a matter of time before a final decision is made.
During the next NBA game, you can place an online bet based on which team you think will win the matchup. Let’s speculate on what could happen if Drummond is traded to the Sixers based on prior performance this season.
Drummond’s Performance With the Chicago Bulls This Season
Drummond has been performing well during this season with the Chicago Bulls. In the most recent 20 games of the season, Drummond has averaged about 10.5 points per game as well as 11 rebounds and 1.1 steals. He had 18 rebounds during the Bulls’ latest game against the Timberwolves on February 6th with a regular season rebound stat of 8.5 versus Embiid’s 11.3 regular season rebound stat.
Since Embiid is the rebounding god for the Sixers, Drummond’s rebound abilities would help greatly during Embiid’s temporary absence. In the most recent game against the Golden State Warriors, Joel Embiid scored 14 points and achieved 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Embiid achieved the most rebounds in the game against the Spurs on January 22nd, achieving a total of 18 of them.
Comparing Points Averages Between Drummond and Embiid
Embiid’s point average for the regular season is 35.3 compared to Drummond’s 7.9. Hence, Embiid has about five times the points average compared to Drummond even though they both play the Center position position.
What is helping Embiid’s case for having such a high points average is that he also plays as a power forward, which means he is more adept at taking and landing longer shots across the court. Hence, this does give Embiid a points advantage that Drummond usually does not have as he only plays as a center. He scored the highest amount of points during the January 22nd game between the Sixers and the Spurs for a total of 70 points
What Will the Bulls Want If They Trade Drummond to the Sixers?
If the Chicago Bulls allow Drummond to be traded with the 76ers, more than likely, the Bulls are going to want three second-round picks from the Sixers in return for potentially trading Drummond. With Drummond’s deal about to expire soon, the trade could go either way. We can only wait to see what happens once the trade deadlines are up.
Will the Anticipated Drummond Trade Happen For Real?
Do you think Drummond will get traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Philadelphia 76ers? If so, who do you think the three second-round picks would be that will happen in return for Drummond trading teams? Leave your speculations down below in the comments section and watch for the most updated news to find out how everything pans out!
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