Andre Drummond, Knicks Reportedly Agree to Contract in NBA Free Agency After Mitchell Robinson Exit

Veteran center Andre Drummond is going to play his 15th NBA season with the New York Knicks.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Drummond has agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million contract to be the backup center for the Knicks.

Drummond spent the past two seasons as the Philadelphia 76ers' backup, though he wound up starting 48 games during that span due to the frequent injury issues for Joel Embiid.

A two-time All-Star, Drummond remains an effective offensive player. He has averaged more than 3.0 offensive rebounds per game in two of the last three seasons.

Last season also saw an evolution of Drummond's scoring ability as he became a three-point shooter for the first time. The 32-year-old wasn't a high volume shooter from behind the arc with 1.4 attempts per contest, but he connected on 35.6 percent of them.

In the previous 13 seasons, Drummond shot 12.9 percent from three on 140 total attempts.

At this stage of his career, Drummond is no longer a disruptive defensive player. His best attribute is grabbing rebounds, so there has to be a strong infrastructure around him to make full use of his skill set.

Knicks governor James Dolan certainly followed through with his statement following the NBA Finals that he will never pay into the second apron.

Mitchell Robinson, one of many playoff heroes for New York, left the Knicks to sign with the Boston Celtics as a free agent.

The Knicks did make smaller moves to retain some of their depth. They are bringing back Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Mohamed Diawara, but the biggest question on the roster was the backup center role.

Karl-Anthony Towns has the starting job locked down for as long as he remains with the Knicks.

Given the financial constraints the Knicks were under due to the apron, the veteran minimum market seemed like the safest path for them to find Towns' backup.

Drummond is a solid addition to the bench who has been a helpful player for multiple playoff teams in recent years. The Knicks will be hoping that continues next season as they look to repeat as NBA champions.