At the time, most experts agreed that Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand overpaid to get Tobias Harris from the Clippers and later Matisse Thybulle from Boston. However, in hindsight, might he have actually fleeced them? It sure looks like those teams got little in return.
When Elton Brand was named the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sept. 20, 2018, all he had for administrative experience was a year as GM of the G-League Delaware Blue Coats and a few months in the Sixers front office in a position so low, he even admits sometimes they other execs ignored him.
His predecessor, Bryan Colangelo, had made few trades during his time, and what ones he did were pretty bad (shudder and remember Anžejs Pasečņiks).
On the other hand, Sam Hinkie as GM usually fleeced the other team, sometimes to an embarrassing degree (think Sacramento Kings in what one person called ‘One of the most lopsided trades in history’.)
Now, what Hinkie did with all his fleecing can be argued, like drafting centers three years in a row, taking Jahil Okafor over Kristaps Porzingis, but no one can deny he was a shrewd trader.
Despite the paper-thin resume, Brand has not been shy about swinging for the fences. Unlike Hinkie, he is looking for players to help the Sixers win a championship, not stockpiling second-round picks.
Brand’s first big move was the Jimmy Butler trade. It turned out to be a one-year rental.
Of course, so was Kawhi Leonard for Toronto and if that ‘quadruple doink‘ shot does not go in, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is pilloried in Canada for trading DeMar DeRozan for him, instead of being hailed as a genius. If the Sixers had beaten the Raptors, Brand would be the one getting accolades.
While the Butler trade can be debated, there are two moves Brand has made since being handed the reins which were, at the time, universally panned.
But checking in with Captain Hindsight, people now might have a very different opinion.
Feb. 6, 2020: Tobias Harris trade
Despite the addition of Jimmy Butler, the 76ers still were not looking like title contenders, so in the wee hours before the NBA Trade deadline, Brand pulled off another whopper .
"The Sixers acquired Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanović and Mike Scott in a trade with the Clippers, sending Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala and Landry Shamet to the Clippers in the deal. Los Angeles will also receive Philadelphia’s own protected 2020 first-round pick, the Miami Heat’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick and the Detroit Pistons’ 2021 and 2023 second-round picks. — NBA.com"
The general consensus, after bleary-eyed reporters could think, since the deal occurred 2:15 AM on the east coast, was that Brand had blown it and vastly overpaid to get Harris and a couple of benchwarmers from the Clippers.
Again, the quadruple-doink comes into play. If the Sixers beat Toronto, the heap of stuff Brand gave the Clippers is inconsequential. But they did not, it was a second-round playoff exit, just like the year before.
Harris was a nice, new piece for coach Brett Brown, but Brand gave up a lot to get him … or did he?
Now that the deal is over a year old, let us look how it turned out.
First, Harris re-signed with the Sixers (albeit for a lot of money). In all likelihood, if he was not with the team last year due to the trade, he would have not chosen Philly as his destination in free agency.
At the time, the rumors were his hometown Brooklyn Nets and Knicks were going to be hot after him.
Mike Scott ended up being a valuable member of the Sixers rotation. To call the Sixers bench trash last year would have been an insult to trash. Come playoff time, Scott, along with James Ennis, were the only subs Brett Brown trusted to put in a game.
Scott has also endeared himself to the community. Of course, there is the now-famous Hive, and he was cool enough to accept a challenge from a Sixers Sense contributor to race (Scott won).
After Al Horford’s signing, Brand used the only salary exception to the cap he had to re-sign Scott.
Now, Scott has not looked so good this season. OK, he has actually been awful. With the trade deadline passed, Scott is probably safe for the rest of the season. If he can return to the 2019 playoff version of himself, Scott can contribute.
The other player thrown in the mix was 7-foot-5 center Boban Marjanovic. In the regular season he actually contributed, doing things that Ben Simmons can not do (i.e. hitting three-pointers)
His lack of foot speed caused him to mostly sit on the bench in the playoffs and he signed with Dallas in the offseason. But ‘Bobi’ was a fan favorite, and how many 76ers got to be in John Wick 3?
As for the players sent to the Clippers, Chandler and Muscala were soon sent on their way.
Landry Shamet? Yes, the Sixers could really, really, REALLY use a sharpshooter like Shamet. But reports are the Clippers refused to do the deal unless Shamet was part of it (Were they bluffing? We will never know).
But let us also get real, Shamet is not the second coming of Ray Allen. Mostly a starter, Shamet is averaging 10.1 points and 40 percent on three-pointers alongside two players who defenses focus on in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He is fifth in the NBA in percentage of points scored from three-point range at 70 percent.
But the role Shamet would have played on the Sixers has been taken by Furkan Korkmaz. If Shamet was still on the team, Korkmaz probably would be playing club ball in Turkey right now.
Statistically, Shamet averages seven minutes more a game than Korkmaz but he scores not many more points on average (10.1 to 9.7) and they are virtually even in shooting percentage on threes (40.0 to Korkmaz’s 39.8 percent).
Basically, Korkmaz and Shamet are a wash. (Never thought I would type this sentence a year ago).
The crown jewel of the trade was suppose to be the unprotected 2021 Miami first round pick. With the Heat floundering at the time, and looking to head south even more with the retirement of star Dwyane Wade, Sixers fans were salivating over which big college name that pick would bring, or what current NBA star player they could get by trading it.
Of course, the Heat have completely turned things around. They even have a better record than the 76ers and have lots of young talent to surround Jimmy Butler and Andre Iguodala with.
At the time, to give the Clippers got both the Miami pick and a promising young player in Shamet, which for Harris seemed like a big overpay
Guess what? As it turns out, Brand did not give the Clippers much.
Basically, the Sixers received a borderline all-star they would never had a chance at otherwise and some subs who were helpful down the stretch for a role player (who they immediately replaced), two late first-round picks and a couple of second rounders.
So was Elton Brand fleeced or did he fleece the Clippers?
Verdict: leaning to fleece
To get a finalist for the U.S. Olympic team in return for two late first-rounders, two second rounders and a role player, that is a pretty, pretty good deal for the Sixers.
However there must be a caveat, as the Clippers were able to take the roster space and draft picks created by the trade to help them land Leonard and George in the offseason, so they were quite happy with the trade, even though they may not have gotten the haul they expected.
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.