Another center has found a home: Drummond signed to the 76ers for two years and $10 million, with a player option the following year. Drummond is a second-in-house player, having played 49 games for the 76ers in 2021-22. Now back with the 76ers, Drummond tweeted: "I want to eat Philadelphia's cheesesteak sandwich right now." ”
Drummond's nickname is Zhuang Shen, and some fans even thought he was retired. In fact, Zhuang Shen was born on August 10, 1993, and is not yet 31 years old. In the 2023-24 season, Zhuang played 79 games for the Bulls, 10 of which were starts. He averaged 17.1 minutes per game, scoring 8.4 points, 9 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 55.6% from the field.
In the summer of 2022, Zhuang Shen joined the Bulls for 2 years and $6.56 million. The salary is $3.2 million for the 2022-23 season and $3.36 million for the 2023-24 season. Even if the salary has risen to $10 million in 2 years, Zhuangshen's cost performance is still very high. He's a good backup center and plays 20 minutes a game without a problem.
Why do you say that Zhuang Shen is a rebounding idiot? He played a total of 1,351 minutes and grabbed 708 rebounds last season. He became the first player since Rodman to grab more than 0.5 rebounds per minute in a single season. Of course, that is, if you play at least 1,000 minutes. This summer, the Bulls plan to re-sign Zhuang Shen, but he wants to join a championship-contending team.
I don't know how many people still remember that Zhuang Shen 8 years ago was the No. 1 center in the East. In the 2015-16 season, Zhuang Shen started 81 regular season games in the Pistons, averaging 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, winning the rebounding king and being selected to the best team for three times! Embiid was still recovering from an injury that season and didn't play a game.
Zhuang Shen was lucky, in the 2016 offseason, the NBA salary cap rose sharply, Zhuang Shen's rookie contract expired, and he signed a five-year, $130 million contract with the Pistons. This amount seems mediocre now, and it was considered a maximum salary at the time. Don't forget, the NBA's biggest contract at that time was Conley's 5-year 150 million!
In the 2017-18 season, Zhuang Shen averaged 15 points and 16 rebounds per game, becoming the first player to average 16+ rebounds per game in the first season after Rodman. Many fans think that he brushes the data, which is similar to the big white edge. It's just that Da Baibian likes to brush blocks, and Zhuang Shen brushes rebounds. And the Pistons have a poor record, and Zhuang Shen's data obviously contains moisture.
There is a transaction that illustrates the value of the god Zhuang. On Feb. 7, 2020, the Pistons traded Johnson to the Cavaliers in exchange for Brandon Knight, John Henson, and a second-round pick. On March 27, 2021, the Cavaliers bought out Zhuangshen, and two days later he signed a contract with the Lakers with a base salary. Under the age of 28, the 130 million contract will directly change the basic salary......
In August 2021, Zhuang Shen joined 76 people with a salary at the end of the year; On February 11, 2022, he was sent to the Nets in a trade for Harden; In the 2022 offseason, he signed with the Bulls for two years and $6.56 million. In just one year, three teams have been changed, which can be described as a displacement. Thankfully, he settled down with the Bulls and played for two full seasons without being traded.
Final question: With George, Johnson and Eric Gordon joining, do the 76ers have what it takes to make it out of the East now?