Philadelphia 76ers: Was it a summer of blunders or success?

NBA Draft

June 20, 2019: Selected Ty Jerome (1st round, 24th pick), Carsen Edwards (2nd round, 33rd pick), Bruno Fernando (2nd round, 34th pick), Admiral Schofield (2nd round, 42nd pick) and Marial Shayok (2nd round, 54th pick) in the 2019 NBA Draft.

June 21: Traded Carsen Edwards and Ty Jerome to the Boston Celtics for Matisse Thybulle; traded Admiral Schofield and Jonathon Simmons to the Washington Wizards for $2M.

What we thought then: Disappointing! 

The 76ers had five draft picks to start the night but ended up with just two players: Matisse Thybulle and Marial Shayok.

Although our own Christopher Kline gave the Thybulle pick a B+, to many it seemed like a regurgitation of the Zhaire Smith selection of the year before, another player with a reputation as a defensive standout who contributed little on the offensive end. The fact Brand had to ship the hated Boston Celtics a high second round pick (more on that later) so they did not poach Thybulle steamed fans.

What infuriated the Sixers fans the most in the draft was that the Celtics took the second rounder Brand gave them and, right before the Sixers selected, took Carsen Edwards, an electric scorer out of Purdue. With the Sixers bench producing little offense the previous season, many saw him as someone to give it some punch. The fact the hated Celtics got him with the 76ers pick made it even tougher to take.

Shayok was an afterthought. The 54th overall pick, he had been a role player at Virginia before transferring to Iowa State for his senior year, where he led them in scoring (18.7 points per game.).

The fact a couple of the second-rounders were sold also did not endear fans to what occurred on draft night. It might have enriched Josh Harris’ bank account but, for a team that had struggled with a weak bench all season, it seemed counterproductive.

What we think now: Love It!

Thybulle has been a revelation. Sixers fandom was enraged that Thybulle did not make the Rising Stars Game during All-Star Weekend.

The 6-foot-5 rookie is not a good defensive player but an incredible one.

Despite not knowing the moves of those he was guarding, Thybulle actually led the entire NBA in steals for the first couple of weeks of the season, an amazing accomplishment for a non-starting rookie.

Thybulle’s offense is still a work in progress. He started off with a hot hand, shooting over 40 percent on three-pointers, but after coming back from an injury, cooled off a bit. He currently is shooting from beyond-the-arc 35.3 percent, which is about the league average.

No one even talks about the trade anymore (except for unhappy Celtics fan Bill Simmons) as the two players Boston received spent most of this season in the G-League.

To get a transformational defensive player with the No. 20 pick is a definite kudo for Brand.

The other draftee, Shayok, also did much better than expected. The 6-foot-5 wing was able to transfer his offensive skills to the G-League and averaged 22.4 points per game for the Delaware Blue Coats. The G-League is not the NBA, but it is a lot better than the Big 12 Conference.

The Sixer Sense’s Lucas Johnson thinks Shayok has earned a full NBA contract with his play in Delaware. Unfortunately, with a team on a title chase, he did not get much run with the 76ers, appearing in only two games.

Shayok finished as the highest ranked player in the entire G-League. To have the 54th pick receive that honor, is another a big positive for the Sixers organization.

RE-GRADE:

• Thybulle: A+
• Shayok: A+