Is Adem Bona Ready For The Next Step?

But Drummond's inclusion in the rumors comes as a surprise given that he plays an important role on the Sixers, back up to Joel Embiid. On the surface, this doesn't seem like a daunting task, but given the production numbers that the former MVP puts up, as well as the frequency of his missed game time, it makes for quite an important role on the team.

Last season would see the 31-year-old miss a significant part of the season, only appearing in 19 games, with most of his absences being due to swelling in his left knee. This meant that Drummond would make 40 appearances for the Sixers, starting in 23 games, doing his best to fill the shoes of his former MVP teammate, averaging 7.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Bona's rookie campaign and stepping up in his sophomore season

Nurse wouldn't only call on Drummond to fill in for Embiid, as he would also look towards their second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Adem Bona, who didn't see much game time initially, but over the course of the year, he'd become a bigger part of the team.

In his 58 appearances, Bona would drop 5.8 points per night while also coming away with 4.2 rebounds. But this doesn't tell the tale of the tape when he became the starter late in the season, as he'd average 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds across his appearances in the final 13 games of the season.

These numbers would be enough to demonstrate that the 22-year-old is ready to take on NBA-level talent night in and night out; however, in his recent outings, it appears that he has taken a step back in his production.

Across his five appearances during the NBA Summer League, Bona would average 8.6 points and six rebounds per game, along with 4.8 personal fouls, which could point towards something that would need to be monitored going forward.

These struggles have seemed to persist in his limited game time with the Turkish national team at EuroBasket 2025, putting up 5.4 points against the various levels that are seen in the continental competition.

This isn't to say that Bona has fully regressed in Nurse's system, it's important to note that in the NBA Summer League and EuroBasket, he's having to play under different coaches, who are supplied with different tasks and players to work with.

When all is said and done, it may be the case that Bona could edge out rookie Johni Broome and newcomer Trendon Watford for a spot backing up the aforementioned Embiid, given his experience in Nurse's system last season and his gathered experience since then.