3 potential 76ers trades involving Matisse Thybulle

The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to hammer the league’s phone lines ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. One very popular name in the rumor mill of late is Matisse Thybulle, the Sixers’ 25-year-old defensive specialist.

With Thybulle’s minutes dwindling and clear concerns about his utility in the playoffs, it would not be surprising for the Sixers to seek out other options. This is also the last year of Thybulle’s rookie contract, meaning he will enter restricted free agency in the summer. Does Philly want to pay him?

Two teams have been definitively connected to Thybulle in the trade market: Sacramento and Golden State. That said, one would expect that other teams are interested in the two-time All-Defensive team member.

Here’s what a Thybulle trade could look like.

76ers trade Matisse Thybulle to Kings

Despite noticeable improvement, Thybulle remains heavily limited on the offensive end. With the Kings firmly in the postseason picture, that has to be taken into account. While he has a clearer path to extended minutes in Sacramento than in Philadelphia, do no expect Thybulle to fetch a massive haul in the last year of his rookie contract.

The idea has been floated that Philadelphia could look to upgrade the Georges Niang spot — or at least replace him with a comparably talented player who is better suited to the postseason. Enter Trey Lyles. At 6-foot-9, Lyles can space the floor (36.6 percent on 3.1 attempts per game from deep) and he’s a more solid defender than Niang.

A lot of fingers will point at Malik Monk as the player Philly should be trying to pry away from Sacramento, but given Monk’s struggles with efficiency and defense this season, I’m not sure he’s even an upgrade over Shake Milton. Terence Davis and Chimezie Metu are also names to watch.

For Sacramento, Thybulle is an immediate defensive upgrade. The Kings tend to have plenty of shooting on the floor, so the hope would be that Thybulle’s relatively low 3-point volume can be overcome.