Philadelphia 76ers: Did Elton Brand fleece Clippers, Celtics in trades?

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June 20, 2020: Matisse Thybulle trade from Celtics

The 76ers staff had a deal with Matisse Thybulle. Do not visit any teams before the draft and, if he was around, they promised to draft him in the first round. The Sixers kept this so secret that none of the mock drafts had Thybulle ticketed to the Sixers.

Just to make sure no one got the 6-foot-5 Washington product, the Sixers swung a draft night trade.

"The Boston Celtics have agreed to select University of Washington guard Matisse Thybulle on behalf of the Philadelphia 76ers, who will send the 24th and 33rd overall picks in the 2019 NBA Draft to the Celtics. — CelticsWire"

Many fans might have forgotten that Thybulle was actually drafted by the Boston Celtics. Although one of their most famous fans, Bill Simmons, certainly remembers, and not with fond memories.

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The circumstances of the trade are a bit misty. Some believe Celtics general manager Danny Ainge had smoked out the 76ers intentions and threatened to take Thybulle if Elton Brand did not cough up one of his valuable high second-round picks.

However, in the press conference after the draft, Brand said he was simply making sure they got their man by moving up four slots, and was not horn-swoggled by Ainge. Brand stated that he actually called Ainge about a trade.

Whoever called whom, Ainge ended up not getting much out of the deal.

With the No. 24 pick, the Celtics took Virginia guard Ty Jerome. On July 6 they packaged Jerome with center Aron Baynes to Phoenix for the Suns 2020 first-round pick (top-7 protected). As of February 10, Jerome has played only 19 games for the Suns, seeing time in the G-League.

What really stuck in Sixers Draftnik Nation’s craw is what Boston did with the Sixers No. 33 pick, selecting Purdue’s microwave scorer Carsen Edwards. Even back then, fans knew the Sixers were dying for a guard off the bench who could create and shoot off the dribble, something the 5-foot-11 had accomplished quite well in college.

The Sixers had the No. 34 selection (the Sixers at one time were also in possession of No. 31 but Bryan Colangelo had given that away as part of the Trevor Booker trade with the Nets) and with Edwards remaining on the board as the draft went along, their hopes soared. However, Ainge crushed their dream by picking Edwards. That it occurred just one spot from where the Sixers would pick, and that he was going to a major rival, made for a very unhappy Sixer fandom.

At the time, many Sixers fans and draftniks thought Brand had blown it and handed the next Lou Williams to the hated Celtics.

Eight months later, that evaluation might be a tad off.

As of Feb. 10, Edwards has seen action in 31 games for Boston and is averaging 3.1 points. He is shooting 32 percent from the field and 30 percent on three-pointers. He has also seen some time in the G-League.

On the other hand, Thybulle has been a revelation and whatever machinations Brand did to get him were well worth it.

For a time, Thybulle led the entire NBA in steals. Not only is he without question the top rookie defender, he is rated one of the best in the NBA. The knock against him coming out of college was his lack of offensive skills. However, he is shooting an above-average 37 percent from the three-point line. He is not Devin Booker, but he is farther along than expected.

At the trade deadline, the first player requested by other team’s undoubtedly was Thybulle. After giving up one promising rookie last year, Brand was not going to endure the wrath of Sixers fans and media for a second time. The answer was an emphatic no.

Thybulle was basically jobbed out of a spot in the Rising Stars Game. Apparently defense did not matter to voters.

Using the view of Captain Hindsight, Brand traded two G-Leaguers for the most dynamic rookie defensive player in the NBA.

This is a no-brainer.

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Fleece.