The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the best teams in the NBA thus far this season. They cemented their status among the elite teams with an impressive victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, albeit with a bit of an asterisk because of Donovan Mitchell’s ejection after two technical fouls. Now, with the NBA trade deadline coming up quickly, Matisse Thybulle is a name that has come up.
Still, Philadelphia sits atop the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-12. They are not resting on their laurels, as they have been rumored as an active team on the trade market, with Philadelphia-native Kyle Lowry reportedly being atop their list. The feeling is mutual from Lowry’s side.
Figuring out a package to land Lowry would have its obstacles. The Toronto Raptors are not going to give him away for free, as they are in a battle for the postseason themselves.
However, if the trade value some executives think Matisse Thybulle has is true, he could be the centerpiece of a deal. According to one rival executive, the 76ers should be able to net at least a lottery pick for Thybulle.
“Matisse Thybulle‘s trade value around the league ranges, though one rival executive tells FortyEightMinutes that he believes the Sixers could net a lottery pick for Thybulle. It’s unlikely that Philadelphia would seek out that particular offer as the franchise is all-in on a championship run this season. However, should a rival team acquire him as part of a larger deal, they may easily be able to flip the wing into a valuable, more liquid asset, such as a promising future draft pick.”
Thybulle was selected by the 76ers with the 20th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. While he does not impact the game offensively much, as he averages an inefficient 4.2 points per game in his career, he is a true game-changer defensively.
He is as versatile of a defender as there is in the NBA. Despite being in only his second season, he is already one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Despite averaging only 19.2 minutes per game in his career, he puts up 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks.
As mentioned, the 76ers probably wouldn’t have much interest in a future lottery pick, as they are in win-now mode. However, that extra lottery pick could be used in a deal to land a player of Lowry’s caliber.
While the 76ers benefit from the defense that Matisse Thybulle brings, they have discussed him once, as he was reportedly a part of the trade proposals with the Houston Rockets for James Harden. If they were already willing to part ways with him to upgrade the roster once, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did so once again.
