The 2024 edition of NBA free agency started with a whimper rather than a bang, as the first hour went by without a single deal being announced of a player agreeing to sign with a team other than their own. The league’s new rules allowing players to negotiate with their current teams once the Finals ended meant a number of top free agents already had deals done by 6 p.m. on Sunday when free agency opened.
Finally, at 7 p.m. ET, we got something in the form of an outside deal getting done, as the Philadelphia 76ers addressed their backup center need behind Joel Embiid by reaching a deal with Andre Drummond worth $10 million over two seasons. Drummond spent the first half of the 2021-22 season backing up Embiid before getting traded to the Nets and spending the last two years in Chicago. Drummond broke the news himself with a cheeky tweet about his dinner plans.
I’m in the mood for a Philly cheesesteak
— Andre Drummond (@AndreDrummond) June 30, 2024
Breaking: The Philadelphia 76ers and free agent center Andre Drummond have agreed to a two-year, $10+ million deal, league sources told @hoopshype. Drummond gets a player option Year 2. During his career, Drummond has been a two-time All-Star and a four-time rebounding champion. pic.twitter.com/r9Z77n844C
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 30, 2024
Free agent center Andre Drummond plans to sign a two-year, $10-plus million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/pyWXWafW26
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2024
It’s a start for a Philly team that’s a blank slate at the moment, and Drummond gets something more than the vet minimum, while the Sixers get on the board but have much grander plans for their huge amount of cap space. Paul George is the big domino everyone is waiting to fall, followed by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, with the Sixers targeting both and, potentially, could look to sign together. We’ll have to wait on that, but for now we finally have a deal done that isn’t a player re-signing with his current team.