Drumond is NOT an Upgrade for the Sixers trying to Replace Howard

Just 17 hours after Dwight Howard made the choice to return to the Los Angeles Lakers after his one season in Philadelphia, the Sixers found their new Embiid-Backup in Andre Drummond. Yes, the same Andre Drummond who Joel Embiid said just a couple years ago that he owns "a lot of real estate in his head'...

While Andre Drummond, who turns 28 years old on August 10th, is younger than Dwight Howard (who turns 36 this upcoming December), what Drummond lacks is Howard's veteran experience and leadership he brought to the 76ers locker room. Howard is going to inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame one day after a career that includes three Defensive Player of the Years Awards and five All-NBA First team selections along with being an eight time All-Star. Howard's resume and maturity helped everyone on the team last year as he led postgame workouts and shooting sessions along with working with mentoring the younger players. Also, Howard served as a seudo-Enforcer with his play drawing attention away from the Sixers Stars/Max Players and being an Agitator for opponents.

Yes, Howard's playing time diminished in the 2021 NBA Playoffs because the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks neutralized his value because once teams drew Dwight away from the paint, they limited his greatest areas of impact as a Shot Blocker and Rebounder. During the Regular Season, Howard compiled 31 games in which he had at least 10 rebounds (44.9 Percent of Games Played) but in the playoffs he only had two games with 10 plus rebounds (16.7 Percent of Playoff Games Played).
But Andre Drummond isn't more well-rounded basketball player than Dwight Howard or more athletic or more effective offensive player:

*Drummond is a worse career Free Throw Shooter (47 FT%) than Howard (56.6 FT%)

*Neither Drummond or Howard are reliable shooters from outside the paint and neither player has made more than five three pointers in any season.

*Both Drummond and Howard averaged 3.2 Fouls Per Game for their careers

*Howard has a better career Field Goal Shooting percentage (58.6%) than Drummond (53.8%)

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So this is not an upgrade for the Sixers roster; The addition of Andre Drummond is more of a lateral move than anything for Philadelphia. The team gets younger at the Backup Center position but lose the veteran leadership. They get the same type of limited player offensively who can be neutralized on defense by teams with athletic and floor spacing opposing big men. The fact that Dwight Howard signed with the Lakers within 90 minutes of Free Agency opening up to REPLACE Andre Drummond who was there last year, makes this addition by the 76ers even more of a head scratcher. On his way out of town, Dwight Howard said he loved Philadelphia, called 76ers' staff "family" and said "Ben, Bend ya knees"